Western Conference Round 1: London Knights (4) vs Windsor Spitfires (5)

Other Previews

Erie (1) vs Sarnia (8)

Sault Ste. Marie (2) vs Flint (7)

Owen Sound (3) vs Kitchener (6)

Peterborough (1) vs Niagara (8)

Mississauga (2) vs Ottawa (7)

Oshawa (3) vs Sudbury(6)

Kingston (4) vs Hamilton (5)

The reigning Memorial Cup champion London Knights and the 2017 Memorial Cup hosts Windsor Spitfires in a monumental first round match up. This will be the 6th time this century that these 2 bitter rivals have met in the playoffs with London holding a 5-1 advantage.

Both teams were buyers at the deadline looking add pieces to augment a deep run but alas one of these teams will be exiting the OHL playoffs after round one. Windsor though has the insurance policy of being the Memorial Cup hosts so not all is lost with an early exit.

Players to Watch

London

Max Jones: Injuries and suspension have slowed Jones down to only 33 games this year but when in the lineup he has been a Spitfires killer with 3 goals and 2 assists in only 3 games against Windsor. Was limited to 6 games last playoffs due to suspension issues so it is imperative he plays with a certain level of restraint while not taking away from the aspects of his game that allow him to dominate.

Victor Mete: Arguably the best defenceman in the OHL. Mete has been limited to 50 games this year. His ability to move the puck is very beneficial to the London offence and often hides how much of an asset he is defensively.

Windsor

Sean Day: Day recently signed with the New York Rangers and is enjoying his best OHL season. He will need to continue to build on that in the post season to shoulder some of the load for Sergachev with Stanley till injured

Logan Brown: Brown picked up 6 assists vs London this season the only problem was they game from 1 4 assist game and 1 2 assist game. Windsor will need Brown to be a consistent threat if they want to knock off the Knights.

Keys to the Series

Knights: This has been a tight series all year with both teams battling incomplete lineups. On paper there is no denying that London is the better team. Coming together and playing as the elite unit they should will be imperative. Windsor has the pieces to win this series and it will only get harder from this point on.

Spitfires: Special Teams, goaltending and convincing Michael DiPietro that every game is a Teddy Bear Toss game for London.

Season Series

Oct 9^th

LDN 4 @ WSR 5

Oct 14^th

WSR 0 @ LDN 4

Nov 20^th

WSR 2 @ LDN 3 OT

Jan 3^rd

LDN 1 @ WSR 5

Feb 24^th

WSR 1 @ LDN 4

Mar 4^th

LDN 1 @ WSR 4

Other Series Previews

From @DominicTiano is his Playoff preview for all 8 series

From @NaitSayger comes his OHL playoff preview for SportsNet

Prediction

I really want to pick London in 6 but I just dont see the Knights sealing the deal in Windsor. Game 7 however anything can happen and Windsor could bring in a hypnotist and brain wash DiPietro into thinking it is a Teddy Bear toss night and then London is in real trouble. Because of this I am going with Windsor in 7 games.