Max Domi, Mitch Marner out for London Knights; Erie Otters' Kurtis MacDermid suspended 8 games

Max Domi and Mitch Marner are not playing Friday, might not play for a while and the Erie Otters defenceman Kurtis MacDermid has to hope that his team can advance without him if he's to continue his Ontario Hockey League career.

MacDermid's reaction after he was ejected for his check to the head of Domi during Thurday's London Knights-Otters series opener says it all. There was little grey area about the perils of such a play, or the viciousness. Ahead of Friday's Game 2, MacDermid has been suspended for eight games.

Meantime, Domi and playoff scoring leader Mitch Marner are both listed as "day-to-day" with unspecified injuries. Marner's injury occurred after being checked in the third period by Erie forward Mason Marchment, who has been suspended indefinitely for head contact.

MacDermid, who's an overage, had three head-checking penalties during regular-season play. That isn't necessarily factored into this punishment, but it suggests that the 6-foot-5, 222-pound MacDermid has had difficulty avoiding delivering head hits.

The Otters were 9-1-0-0 while another overage defenceman, Troy Donnay, was suspended 10 games late in the season. So they have some experience at operating without a key defender.

More to the point, though, London has to find a way to stay in the series without its top two players.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet (video: Rogers Television).