The Connor McDavid show continues with Game 4 between McDavid’s Erie Otters and the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. McDavid electrified the Erie Insurance Arena crowd Sunday night with another two goals to give him a CHL-leading 18 through 12 playoff games. McDavid also leads the CHL with 32 points.
The Greyhounds had to rebound from giving up three goals on the first three shots they faced in Game 3. The good news is it took Erie over 21 minutes to get those three shots. Brandon Halverson also stopped the next 18 shots he saw, and many of those were of the scoring-chance variety. The mental toughness is needed to respond from allowing three goals on three shots before closing the door and should serve Halverson well in a pivotal Game 4.
Defensively, the Hounds hope to have Anthony DeAngelo back after missing Game 3 with an upper body injury. DeAngleo sets the pace with his ability to lead the rush from the blue line. His absence was noticeable, especially on the power play. It’s clear, Sault Ste. Marie takes it’s offensive cue from the Tampa first rounder. Darnell Nurse logged over 30 minutes, shadowed McDavid, chipped-in with an assist, and chirped anyone within earshot. Tyler Ganly was in on both Sault Ste. Marie goals and was a force all night long.
Programming Alert: Watch Greyhounds vs. Otters Game 4 live Thursday on Sportsnet 360. Coverage begins 7:00 p.m. ET
Up front, the Hounds need more out of the Jared McCann, Michael Bunting, Sergey Tolchinsky line. The trio has combined for one assist and a minus-seven rating through the first three games. Nick Ritchie has a goal in all but one playoff game and is playing well. The supporting cast of Justin Bailey, Jean Dupuy and Zach Senyshyn must also get back on the board after being held without a goal in the last two games. After that, Bryan Moore and Blake Speers have also been tamed.
A combination of things has allowed Erie to neutralize the Greyhounds in the last two games. First, the McDavid factor runs right through the lineup — it has disrupted the tempo of the high-flying Hounds. Secondly, Sault Ste. Marie has had difficulty playing its signature flow game as Erie has done a good job using the wall whenever possible. Keeping the puck away from the middle of the ice has taken the Greyhounds speed away for the most-part. Lastly, a commitment to team defence has the Otters forwards supporting down low in the defensive zone and blocking shots at an alarming rate.
In goal, Devin Williams has a .933 save percentage over the last two games and his playoff career record is now 13-1 in games where his save percentage is up over .900. Williams also added an assist on the Baptiste empty-net goal to make it 4-2 in Game 3.
Kris Knoblauch has been able to shorten the back end of his bench, leaning heavily on the Troy Donnay, Cory Genovese and the Travis Dermott, Darren Raddysh pairings. Patrick Murphy has been spotted, but isn’t required as much, especially with the TV timeouts.
McDavid has accounted for seven of the 12 goals Erie has scored in the series. He’s scored in five of the nine periods played to this point, and has been a threat whenever he touches the puck. Dylan Strome scored both of his goals in Game 2, but looks out of sorts. Alex DeBrincat has yet to register a point in the series, and is minus-two. Nick Baptiste, and Remi Elie have been good support pieces, but Elie has been snake-bitten in terms of goal scoring, having gone 10 games without a marker. Nick Betz had the important first goal in Game 3, while Jake Marchment has been used almost exclusively on defensive zone draws. Marchment is pointless in the series.
Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds 9-2-0 (4-1-0 Road) 2L, def. SAG 4-0 in round one, def. GUE 4-0 in round two, No. 1 BMO Top 10