The London Knights come out with the 3-2 win in game four over the Flint Firebirds to sweep in the first round of the OHL playoffs.
The league-leading London Knights have officially swept the Flint Firebirds in round one of the OHL Playoffs. The series between the first and eighth seeds may have been over before it started.
Flint made the playoffs with a losing record of 30-33-4, while London led the OHL with a 50-14-1 record.
London has loads and loads of depth in every position, and Flint just wasn't able to keep up with that through this series. From former OHL Playoff MVP Michael Simpson in net, to Oliver Bonk, Sam Dickinson, and Isaiah George on the blue line, to Easton Cowan and Denver Barkey up front, the Knights can beat you with all four lines and three defence pairs.
Flint doesn't have that kind of depth. They have Coulson Pitre and Olivier Peer leading the way up front, and Tristan Bertucci manning the blue line. Their depth doesn't go too far past that.
The London Knights will easily move on to round two, as they join the Soo Greyhounds and Saginaw Spirit. Round two matchups are still undecided, but two of these three teams will play against each other — something to get very excited about.
These three teams have been the powerhouses in the entire OHL this season and have separated themselves from the pack. At least one of these teams will be eliminated in the second round and have their playoff hopes shattered, but don't expect any of these matchups to be easy.
For London specifically, they have one element that stands above the Soo and Saginaw — an all-star goaltender. Michael Simpson has been through it, as he took the Petes all the way to the OHL Championship last season. No other team has that, and it won't be easy to knock Simpson off of his game.
Nonetheless, whichever of these three teams matchup against each other will create a phenomenal series.