O'Reilly expected to set example for Blues in Game 2 against Avalanche

DENVER -- Ryan O'Reilly will be the example the St. Louis Blues look to follow when they try to even the Western Conference Second Round against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 2.

"He just plays the right way all the time," Blues coach Craig Berube said Wednesday.
St. Louis trails the best-of-7 series and will need all its players to play the right way at Ball Arena on Thursday (9:30 p.m. ET; TNT, CBC, SN, TVAS) after a 3-2 overtime loss in Game 1.
Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson scored 8:02 into overtime to end a 13-0 shot domination in the extra period. Colorado outshot the Blues 54-25, and only an NHL postseason career-high 51 saves by goalie Jordan Binnington, many of them acrobatic, kept things close.
RELATED: [Complete Avalanche vs. Blues series coverage]
It will be up to O'Reilly to lead the Blues as he has done throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He leads St. Louis with six goals and is tied for the lead in points (nine) with linemate David Perron.
O'Reilly did it in 2019, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs when he had 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) in 26 games to help the Blues win their first Stanley Cup championship.
He was the Blues' best player in the best-of-7 first round against the Minnesota Wild after St. Louis fell the series 2-1 before winning in six games.
O'Reilly was deployed against one of Minnesota's top two lines and kept them in check. He also scored in each of the final four games of that series.
He then scored the game-opening goal against the Avalanche on Tuesday, but the Blues could not build on it. His five-game goal streak tied a St. Louis record held by Phil Roberto (1972) and Joe Mullen (1982).
O'Reilly's teammates are not surprised by any of this.
"I think just all the hard work he puts in comes to fruition in moments like that," Binnington said. "Almost like it's easy. Just leading the way and being composed out there."

It's ironic, in a way, because O'Reilly learned how to be a hockey pro in Denver, playing his first six NHL seasons with the Avalanche. Colorado traded O'Reilly to the Buffalo Sabres in 2015, and Buffalo traded him to St. Louis three years later.
In 2018-19, his first season with the Blues, he won the Selke Trophy, awarded to the best defensive forward in the NHL, and helped St. Louis win the Cup.
"[Denver] is where my NHL career started," O'Reilly said at the start of the series. "It was very important to me and I had a great time. It's always nice to see people appreciate it, but the focus goes back to hockey."
The focus always is on hockey for O'Reilly. That is what has helped him evolve into an elite two-way player and emerge as one of the game's most effective leaders.
Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon saw the start of that evolution, playing with O'Reilly for two seasons (2013-15).
Since then, MacKinnon has watched from afar as O'Reilly's game and legacy have grown exponentially. They likely will see a lot of each other during the series, just as they did last season, when the Avalanche swept the Blues in the first round.
Though MacKinnon got the upper hand in that series, he knows he will have his work cut out for him this time. They went head-to-head in Game 1, and Berube and Avalanche coach Jared Bednar each seems comfortable with that matchup.
"[O'Reilly] is just good everywhere, so it's going to be a hard matchup for sure," MacKinnon said. "I just think positionally there's no cheating in his game. He's not going to sacrifice defense to try to get points or whatever. He's got a really good stick, he's a really good face-off guy. Just a smart player, really tough to play against."
O'Reilly, in his second season as Blues captain, has emerged as a security blanket, the player to be counted on when things need to be settled down or when momentum needs to be changed. Each is a necessity in Game 2.
The Blues are confident the best version of O'Reilly will show up, because it usually does in these situations.
"I mean, it always looks better when you produce [on the score sheet], but I don't think it matters if he produces or not," Perron said. "He just plays the right way all the time."