PREVIEW: Firebirds Aim to Extend Series in Pivotal Game 4 on Thursday
FLINT, Mich. — For the first time in franchise history, the Firebirds are facing a 3-0 deficit in a playoff round. Ten players on the Flint roster are seeing the playoffs for the first time, while London has ten players already with NHL ties. As the eighth seed looks to avoid elimination on home ice Thursday, the top-seeded Knights look to leap into Round 2 after finishing with the OHL’s best record in the regular season. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at the Dort Financial Center.
LAST TIME OUT: The Flint Firebirds erased a 3-1 third-period deficit to force overtime at the Dort Financial Center on Tuesday. Landon Sim scored the game-winning goal in OT, and the London Knights beat the Firebirds, 4-3, in overtime in Game 3. Connor Clattenburg, Coulson Pitre, and Blake Smith each lit the lamp in regulation, and Nathan Day made 32 saves on 36 shots in another tight game. Flint has now lost by three goals in Game 1, two in Game 2, and just one in Game 3.
SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS: Max McCue paces the Knights with five points from one goal and four assists. Kaleb Lawrence has three goals in the series to lead the team and is in a three-way tie for second overall with four points. Easton Cowan has two tallies and two helpers, and Denver Barkey has one goal and three assists.
Between the pipes, Michael Simpson has all three wins to his credit, including a shutout in Game 1. He’s posted a 2.19 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.
The Knights have gone 3-for-8 on the power play in the postseason, ranking them third of the 16 playoff contenders. Their penalty kill is tenth-best with a 76.9% efficiency.
SCOUTING THE FIREBIRDS: Defenseman Tristan Bertucci has four helpers in the playoffs and tops Flint with four points. Oliver Peer is second with two goals and an assist for three points. There is a three-way tie for third between Coulson Pitre (1 G, 1 A), Connor Clattenburg (1 G, 1 A), and Blake Smith (1 G, 1 A), each with two points.
Nathan Day has backstopped the Birds in all three tilts. His goals-against average is 3.48, and his save percentage sits at .882.
Thus far, the Firebirds have scored three power-play markers on 13 chances, good for seventh place of the 16 teams in the postseason. Their penalty kill ranks 14th with a 62.5% success rate.
ODDS AND ENDS: The Knights had the second-highest goals for (4.74) and lowest goals against (2.90) per game in the OHL in the regular season…The OHL announced the finalists for the Red Tilson Trophy, which is awarded to the league’s Most Outstanding Player, on Monday. Coulson Pitre was the Flint nominee, while Easton Cowan was nominated for London… The Anaheim Ducks announced on Wednesday that they have signed Pitre to a three-year NHL entry-level contract… With his three-point performance in London on Sunday, Oliver Peer joined a short list of Firebirds to tie for the second-most points in a single playoff game in franchise history.
BROADCAST COVERAGE: Thursday’s game can be heard live on the radio throughout Flint & Mid Michigan on US 103.1 FM, online at www.us103.com, or by downloading the US 103 app. Brian Gardner will call the play-by-play action on the Firebirds Hockey Network starting with the pregame show at 6:45 p.m.
All of the Flint Firebirds home and away games throughout the postseason can be watched anywhere in the world online at https://watch.chl.ca/ohl.
UP NEXT: Game 5, if necessary, would take place on Friday night in London. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Budweiser Gardens. Should the series extend to a sixth game, the Firebirds will host this Sunday at 4 p.m.
Story: Brandon Mills / flintfirebirds.com