Kasper Halttunen's Game 3 At Oshawa

Kasper Halttunen had a monster performance in the London Knights' double overtime game three win. He finished with three goals and an assist on the game-winner on six shots. Halttunen also went 5/10 in the faceoff dot as London overcame a four-goal deficit in the third period. Here are the observations on his game.

18:10 left 1st period: Kasper Hattunen starts on his usual third line right wing spot. You can see the improvements he has made in his board work as he is able to shake a defender in the offensive zone and then go back and win a battle in the defensive zone to start the transition.

14:57 left 1st period: Again, the physicality of Halttunen is starting to show up. It's easy to forget that he is 6'3" 203 pounds. He wins a race, executes a nice little play with his linemate, finds some space, and unleashes a shot.

12:50 left 1st period: London on the power play. After a sloppy start from the unit they get set up, Halttunen tries to execute a no-look pass that goes poorly, but credit to him as he gets on his horse to get back and break it up. Is it probably an interference? Yes. But again, using that physicality.

Oshawa goes on to score 3 goals in about a minute span.

5:39 left 1st period: London gets another power play. Very sloppy play from the entire unit to be honest. Just unable to get anything established.

2:55 left 1st period: Sam Dickinson gets London on the board to make it 3-1. Halttunen is on the ice for the ever-important shift after a goal. Short shift as London takes a penalty and goes back on the penalty kill. Halttunen was not afraid to mix things up.

16:20 left 2nd period: Offensive zone start for Halttunen, and he is eventually able to get a shot attempt off.

The second period goes off the rails with a ton of penalties. Oshawa extends their lead to 4-1

8:01 left 2nd period: Another power play for London, and Kasper Halttunen cashes in. He gathers a rebound from the point; Oshawa gives him time and space and takes full advantage of it. 4-2

6:02 left 2nd period: Oshawa has just made it 5-2 and has the pedal to the metal. Halttunen has solid pursuit in his own zone, but a seeing-eye puck makes it 6-2 Oshawa.

5:06 left 2nd period: London is back on the power play. It's a fairly solid movement, and London almost scores. Halttunen is also being asked to take faceoffs as well.

1:05 left 2nd period: London is pushing to get back in. Halttunen continues to play a solid support role in the offensive zone.

19:47 left 3rd period: London on the power play. Halttunen rips a one timer that isn't very close; the puck comes back, he takes a shot and gathers the rebound. London scores about 10 seconds later. 6-3

18:00 left 3rd period: Halttunen gets a few tip opportunities right in front of the net.

16:25 left 3rd period: Quick shift as London gets called for Too Many Men. Halttunen serves it.

14:15 left 3rd period: Out of the box and straight to the front of the net. Halttunen also has a nice behind the net play to Jacob Julien.

While Halttunen has improved his game, his skating needs to improve. On this play, he has a head start on the defender on a potential stretch pass but loses the race because it takes a bit longer to get into his stride. He does catch a break because of a TV timeout.

11:32 left 3rd period: After an icing, Halttunen wins a draw and sets up a nice shot attempt; he also has a good puck retrieval to keep the offensive zone pressure going. He also tries to dangle a bit too much and loses the puck.

10:19 left 3rd period: Another offensive zone start, but London cannot sustain pressure. Scrum at the end leads to another London power play.

9:30 left 3rd period: London on the power play. Halttunen is set up in his usual spot and gets to hammer two shots. He gets lucky that it goes off the foot of the defender, but they don't ask how, just how many. 6-4

7:30 left 3rd period: Get this man some Gatorade... He does a great job of reading the play, providing some support to Easton Cowan, and then going straight to the net for the tip play. Seeing Halttunen's goal scoring diversify from just launching rockets to smart plays like this will be huge for his development.

5:45 left 3rd period: Another offensive zone face off win, another shot on goal. It's all London and Halttunen right now.

4:10 left 3rd period: Halttunen and London are in full-court press mode to try and tie the game, and Halttunen has another positive shift where he continues to get the puck to dangerous areas. He does try to shoot through three guys at the end of the shift.

2:55 left 3rd period: London has come all the way back to tie the game at 6. Halttunen is out there right after the goal.

1:47 left 3rd period: Oh my, what a shift! Halttunen gets a shot off from the draw. Then he gets the puck at the blue line and drives toward the net for a solid chance.

He then provides key support at the point to keep the puck in the offensive zone and the pressure on. He gets the puck back in the high slot, makes a little dangle, and starts the puck movement to keep the pressing. The puck finds him behind the net, where he slips it between a defender's leg and fires a quick turnaround shot on net.

The first couple of overtime shifts are a feeling-out process between both teams. Halttunen almost has a chance on a 2-on-1, but the pass doesn't get to him. He almost has a disastrous moment where he trips, but he can get the puck down on net.

8:20 left 1st OT: Halttunen shows great pursuit and pressure on the forecheck as London continues to apply the pressure. He does try a bit of a dangle and loses his footing.

5:09 left 1st OT: Nice little play to create some open ice for himself on a possible one timer chance but gets his stick lifted at the last second.

Late in the shift, he does a good job of not quitting on a play and getting the puck deep to allow his linemates to change.

2:30 left 1st OT: You can tell Halttunen is gassed here and has every right to be, but he keeps his compete up and is fighting for net front presence.

18:15 left 2nd OT: Halttunen is WIDE OPEN, but William Nichol elects to shoot.

Halttunen wins a board battle after the defender loses his helmet. He gets the puck back to the point, and London wins it in double overtime.

Overall a lot of progress from Kasper Halttunen in this game. The shot has always been there, but the way he can support his linemates, and he showed a lot of compete when the team needed it most. Now, can Halttunen do this game in and game out?