Friday 7 April 2017

Eastern Conference Round 2 Preview: Peterborough Petes (1) vs Kingston Frontenacs (4)

Other Previews


Players to Watch

Peterborough:

Nikita Korostelev: Maples Leafs 7th round draft pick and the Petes big deadline acquisition this year. He picked up 29 points in 24 games with the Petes and averaged a point per game over Niagara. Should continue to be a factor for the rest of the playoffs as a focal point in the Petes Attack so look for him to build upon his opening round stats in a big way vs Kingston. 


Kingston:
Jason Robertson - Has there been a more underappreciated 80 point/300 shot season by a 17 year old? Robertson was an absolute force vs the Bulldogs in round 1 and will be someone the Petes will need to shutdown if they want to avoid an upset.



How they got here

Peterborough

The Petes advanced rather easily with a 4 game sweep of the Niagara Icedogs. Niagara was a borderline playoff team who really had no business in the post season and it showed.

Playoff  Power Play: 4 for 15 26.7%
Playoff  Penalty Kill: 13 for 17 76.5%

Kingston

The Fronts had a tough 7 game series with their division rivals from Hamilton. After falling behind 2-0 with both losses on home ice Kingston showed their resiliency by fighting back and winning the next 3 before taking it in OT in game 7. 



Playoff  Power Play: 3 for 27 11.1%
Playoff Penalty Kill: 9 for 14 64.3%

Key's to the Series

PTB

The Petes do a great job at generating offensive chances but they also give up their fair share as well. While they should be able to get past the Fronts if this continues they will still want to work towards limiting the amount of chances they give up as it will give them trouble vs Mississauga or Oshawa

KGN:

Limit Peterboroughs chances and capitalize on their own. Give Jeremy Helvig an opportunity to steal a few games and fill the Petes with doubt

Season Series

PTB 6-2-0
KGN 2-3-3

The season series between these two divisonal rivals was closer than what Peterboroughs record dictates. Peterborough held the edge in reguation finishes 3-2 and took all 3 OT games. This should give Kingston fans a but of hope as a few bounces their way could go a long way in this series.




Key Numbers

PTB

42.5: That is the average shots per game the Petes had in the opening round. Granted it was against Niagara a team that had questionable at best playoff credentials. Should they continue to generate shots at a high rate going forward they will be a tough out in the East



KGN

1987 That was the last time the Fronts had won a 1st round match up for the 2nd straight year. This was supposed to be a bit of a transitional year for the Fronts and with their young talent there is lots to be excited about. Arguably one of the deepest teams in terms of '99 and '00 and whatever happens this series will be great for their future growth


Prediction

Peterborough in 5. I feel the Petes have too much depth to allow Robertson and Helvig a chance to steal more than 1 game in this series. 

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