Erie Otters, Soo Greyhounds take 3-0 leads: OHL post-game questions

Connor McDavid now has 12 points against London and Erie is up 3-0, as is Sault Ste. Marie in the other Western semifinal. Oshawa put up another six-spot against Niagara, while Barrie and North Bay had another white-knuckle

On with the post-game questions:

Western Conference

Erie 4 London 1 (Otters lead 3-0, Knights host Game 4 on Tuesday) — How did London try to suppress Connor McDavid and how did that turn out? With the last change at home, the Knights went big-on-big, lining up the Christian Dvorak-Max Domi-Matt Rupert line and budding franchise defenceman VIctor Mete against the McDavid-Remi Elie-Alex DeBrincat troika.

It worked, at least 40 minutes. McDavid (3A, +2), who now has 12 points on 16 Otters goals in this round, had an assist on the first goal, a Travis Dermott screen-shot salvo. The Knights, though, made McDavid play a lot of defence and also tried to draw Erie into some extra-curricular activities, particularly when Rupert two-handed DeBrincat on the left wrist in the first period and didn't get penalized.

Erie goalie Devin Williams, though, turned back the Dvorak line on three prime chances in the final three minutes of the second, preserving the 1-0l lead. That included a chance where McDavid was slow reacting to impede Dvorak, the other centre, from falling heir to a loose puck in the slot.

However, by the third, McDavid broke through with two assists as Erie pulled away. Dermott also played an astute game on the back end, breaking up a 2-on-1 rush in the second.

When will Dylan Strome bust out? Between Domi playing hurt, Mitch Marner being injured and OHL points king having one goal and no assists in three, the great ensemble was been subsumed by The McDavid Show. London has done a respectable job against the Otters top-ranked power play, which is just 2-for-11, and the paucity of PP production has affected Strome, which could be seeping into his overall game. The potential NHL lottery pick had two potentially costly penalties on Sunday.

The upside for Erie is that they have shown they are much more than two stars and two big production lines. Even the fourth line put heat on the Knights.

Erie had a power play in the final minute and a chance for Strome to pot a point for pick-me-up. Erie coach Kris Knoblauch eschewed antagonzing the Knights by using frontline players with the game already decided and used his depth players.

Sault Ste. Marie 6 Guelph 1 (Greyhounds lead 3-0, Storm host Game 4 on Tuesday) — Where was Robby Fabbri in the final two periods? The St. Louis Blues first-rounder, who is pointless in the series, was stapled to the bench after Guelph once again fell behind during the opening 20 minutes.

It's a collective struggle, though. Sault Ste. Marie, led by a three-point night from Nick Ritchie (who now has 17 for a team that is 7-0 in the playoffs), is simply rolling. It started fast, with Jared McCann scoring on a slapshot in the third minute against Justin Nichols, who once again didn't make it to the second period. The 19-year-old goalie was not on the bench after being replaced.

Eastern Conference

North Bay 3 Barrie 2 (series tied 1-1, Battalion host Game 4 on Tuesday) — What was the term you heard ad nauseam at the world junior that describes Nick Paul's shorthanded game-winner? "World class," it was. Paul made the game, another nip-tuck contest between the Central Division rivals, with his winner 4:08 into the third. The Ottawa Senators signing, who was an energy player on Canada's gold medal-winning team, stole the puck at centre ice and carried into the Colts zone, where he snapped a goal by Mackenzie Blackwood to restore the North Bay lead.

The Colts had killed off a full two-minute 5-on-3 late in the second and had a look to complete a climb out an early 2-0 lead. Paul's shorty had a deflating effect.

What likelihood is there that the teams will be tied again after four games? Very good; it just seems foreordained that three other teams will be binge-watching Netflix while Barrie and North Bay, after splitting two 3-2 games, go deep.

The Colts, whose goals from 18-year-olds Brendan Lemieux and Roy Radke came during a start-of-the-second spurt, will need to dig deep for a win at North Bay Memorial Gardens. Blackwood is off to a sharp start and Ben Harpur has been handling heavy minutes on the blueline, although the Senators prospect will probably need to alternate heat and ice after taking a shot off his foot during the third period. Barrie also managed to score both of its goals against Paul's line.

Oshawa 6 Niagara 1 (Generals lead 2-0, IceDogs host Game 4 on Tuesday) — What likelihood is there of any change when they teams reconvene for Game 3 at St. Catharines? Oshawa, somewhat like the Ottawa 67's in the previous round against Niagara, had little difficultly setting the pace over the past two games. The Generals, who had six goal scorers Sunday, started with a 20-shot first period and kept Niagara from scoring a 5-on-5 goal.

Niagara has a shot if it can use its speed on home ice. So far, the Generals, with their dozen veteran players, have hemmed them in. Montreal Canadiens prospect Michael McCarron was omnipresent with a two-point game and also ran some interference on a couple of other goals.

The IceDogs' best defenceman, Vince Dunn, still has a second game to serve on a slew-footing suspension.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.