Wilson's hat trick included the tying goal with 48 seconds left in regulation time (Terry Wilson, OHL Images)

No. 1 star: Tom Wilson, Plymouth Whalers (OHL)

The indomitable Wilson (3G, +2) scored all three Whalers goals in regulation time, killed penalties in overtime and used his 6-foot-4, 210-pound frame to good effect in board battles to help Plymouth prevail in their longest game in franchise history. Wilson also created a diversion in front of London Knights goalie Anthony Stolarz in the second overtime, giving Anaheim Ducks prospect Rickard Rakell an opening to flick home the decider for a series-tying 4-3 win.

All three of the Washington Capitals first-rounder's goals tied the game. London had period leads of 1-0 and 2-1, but Wilson first levelled on a deflection and then backhanded in a rebound 6:53 into the third to re-tie the game (and end Plymouth's streak of nine consecutive fruitless power plays). A goalie interference penalty on Colorado Avalanche selection Garrett Meurs led to London's Max Domi snapping in a go-ahead goal with 9:54 left. With 48 seconds left, though, Wilson got away from New York Rangers blueline prospect Tommy Hughes and went bar-down to force overtime, quieting 9,016 London fans.

Anaheim Ducks prospect Rickard Rakell scored the double-OT winner for Plymouth on Sunday (OHL Images)

Tom Wilson was beastin', young Alex Nedeljkovic was unbeatable through 30-plus minutes of overtime as the Plymouth Whalers beat London in their longest game in franchise history. On with the post-game questions:

Drouin (right) celebrates a goal with Nathan MacKinnon (The Canadian Press)

No. 1 star: Jonathan Drouin, Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)

Drouin (2G-3A, +4) took first-star honours at the Metro Centre ahead of hat-trick scorer Nathan MacKinnon (3G-1A, +3) during the Mooseheads' 6-4 Game 1 semifinal-series win over the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

The elegant left wing turned it on over the final two periods on a night when the underdog Huskies twice erased two-goal deficits, as both of his goals put Halifax into the lead. After Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Nikita Kucherov (2G-1A, +1) pulled Rouyn-Noranda level at 2-2 in the second period, Drouin blazed away on a breakaway and drew a penalty shot after being slashed. The 18-year-old who's likely going to be a top-five pick in a deep 2013 NHL draft fed MacKinnon for another goal a few minutes later.

The Huskies tied the game on a 5-on-3 power play early in the third period. Pas de problem for Les Mooseheads; Drouin banged in the winner of a setup from Martin Frk with 11:02 remaining. That assist on the winning goal was redemption for Frk (1G-2A, +2). The Detroit Red Wings prospect had taken three earlier minor penalties, including one that helped create the 4-4 goal.

MacKinnon ended a goal drought in Halifax's Game 1 win (Getty Images)

Here's some weekend viewing for NHL fans in Florida, Colorado and Calgary of Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin being really, really good at hockey.

The fancy stuff might have packed away during the playoffs in many puck precincts, but not at the Halifax Metro Centre, where there was a classic episode of The Nate and Jo Show on Saturday. The Mooseheads' draft-year duo, who were relatively quiet during the second round of the playoffs, kicked it up a notch on Saturday in the opener of the QMJHL semifinal. In front of a sellout crowd of 10,595 plus Florida Panthers general manager Dale Tallon, whose team will be in the NHL draft lottery, MacKinnon (3G-1A, +3) and Drouin (2G-3A, +4) combined for nine points during Halifax's 6-4 victory.

MacKinnon's hat trick included an end-to-end play that he started in front of his own net and finished with a burst of speed to redirect a pass. His second goal came via Drouin's creativity, as the left wing sucked in a checker and made the dainty flip pass to a speeding MacKinnon, who warded off Chicago Blackhawks second-round pick Dillon Fournier before besting goalie Alex Belanger.

The Mooseheads' megatalents don't always pull of the high degree of difficulty of plays, but is sure is nice when they do.

Scheifele has 5 points in the series' first 2 games (OHL Images)

Mark Scheifele scored the first two goals while Aaron Ekblad helped the Barrie Colts pitch their second shutout since losing their captain to a suspension during a series-tying romp over the Belleville Bulls. On with the post-game questions.

London rookie Remi Elie scored the winning goal Friday (OHL Images)

The openers in each conference final went according to the template — grim Dickensian struggle in London, chances back and forth in Belleville as the home teams prevailed. On with the belated morning skate questions:

Jets pick Austen Brassard has five goals in 11 playoff games (Aaron Bell, OHL Images)

No. 1 star: Austen Brassard, Belleville Bulls (OHL)

The other Winnipeg Jets 2011 draft choice came up big in Game 1 of the OHL Eastern Conference final. Brassard (2G, +1) got the last touch on the puck during a goalmouth scramble in the final two minutes, tapping in the deciding goal to lift the Bulls to a 3-2 win over the Barrie Colts after a perhaps soft holding call on Colts defenceman Jake Dotchin a minute earlier. Brassard's linemates Alan Quine and Daniil Zharkov helped generate pressure around the Colts' nets, before Brassard flicked the puck out of the air to give Belleville its only lead of the night.

The 20-year-old Brassard also ensured a 2-2 tie through two periods with a solo effort in the second. Eight seconds after the Colts negated a power play with a penalty, Brassard took advantage of the open ice on the 4-on-4, coming out of the left wing corner and making a power move to beat goalie Mathias Niederberger.

Capitals first-rounder Tom Wilson and Plymouth are 31-7 since Jan. 10 (OHL Images)

The London Knights' track record for taking apart a loaded team is quite impressive.

Ahead of Friday's start of the OHL Western Conference final against the vaunted Plymouth Whalers, one cannot help but hearken back to the prognosticating prior to a series about 12 months ago against another team with more NHL draft picks than one could count on two hands. The Niagara IceDogs team that London coolly dispatched in a five-game OHL final went on to send eight players to pro hockey, including Boston Bruins rookie defenceman Dougie Hamilton and not including star forwards Ryan Strome and Brett Ritchie, who were bound by the rules to return to major junior.

What's different about Plymouth? For starters, the Whalers got a good push in the last round in a six-game set with the Owen Sound Attack, plus they buttress their skill with a certain flinty toughness.

"We compete, we do the little things, we take pride in being physical," says Whalers centre Mitchell Heard, who began this season in the AHL. "I think that was one of the big keys for us. London is pretty skilled up front and we're going to have to compete... Their D [defencemen] like to jump into the play so we're going to have to guys backchecking."

Plymouth scored a league-high 291 goals in the regular season, followed by London with 272, although each team prides itself on balance. It is a series of stars; Plymouth's Vince Trocheck won the scoring title and will likely be targeted by a shutdown line, but the Whalers have three NHL first-rounders in behemoth wing Tom Wilson and two-way centres Stefan Noesen and Rickard Rakell. The Knights' trio of two-way centre Bo Horvat, playmaker Max Domi and mobile 6-foot-5 defender Nikita Zadorov could all match teammate Olli Määttä's status as a NHL first-rounder.

"They don't have one particular line that will do all the damage like some teams," London captain Scott Harrington, a Pittsburgh Penguins defence prospect, says of the Whalers. "They have four strong lines that can play well in the offensive end. It will be important for all six of our D to be sharp and our goaltending as well, for our forwards to be coming back. That's something we've worked on all year and something we've worked on since my first year in London [in 2009-10].

"They've definitely got some players who have made quite the name for themselves in the OHL and are high draft picks in the NHL," Harrington adds. "It's going to be a challenge. It's going to take more of a team than a couple of guys trying to shut them down."