from Frank Seravalli of TSN,

On the night the West was won, Brett Hull said there were four reasons why the Blues booked their first ticket to the Stanley Cup Final in 49 years.

Binnington. Berube. Belief.

And the fourth, according to the Golden Brett, was Ryan O’Reilly.

“Ryan O’Reilly came in and has been the consummate professional from Day 1,” Hull said. “He taught Vladimir Tarasenko and every single player in that room how to play the right way.”

Remember when there was somehow some notion with his playoff-starved resume that you can’t win with O’Reilly? Yeah, the Sabres don’t either.

Last April, O’Reilly was torched in Buffalo when he accused the Sabres of “being OK with losing.” He spoke from the heart and admitted he “lost” his “love of the game multiple times throughout last season.”

Turns out, it’s definitely tougher to win without him. No one wanted it more on Monday.

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