St. Louis Blues captain Ryan O'Reilly lamented his postseason struggles after the Colorado Avalanche swept his team from the first round of the playoffs Sunday night.
"I'm very disappointed with myself," O'Reilly said following the Blues' 5-2 loss in Game 4, according to The Denver Post's Mike Chambers.
"It was pretty pathetic. I didn't really do much this series and especially against that top line. They're a very good line. Obviously, they're going to get chances and make plays. I had the opportunity early to see a lot of that line and play them harder, and I didn't do my job. And if I'm not going my job, you can't expect anyone else to do theirs."
O'Reilly - who said before the series that the Blues would beat the Presidents' Trophy-winning Avalanche - notched just one assist over four games. Colorado outscored St. Louis 7-1 when the 30-year-old was on the ice, with the Avalanche's top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, and Mikko Rantanen combining for nine goals and 24 points.
The Blues were outscored 20-7 over the four games and led for just 7:12 of the series.
"I thought we would have been able to tilt the ice a bit more and take the momentum back," O'Reilly said. "Obviously, with that team, with the way they play, they're going to have momentum at times, but we sure didn't grab it back like we needed to and sustain pressure. ... They dominated us. Simple as that."
The Blues have been eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs in consecutive campaigns following their Stanley Cup win in 2019.
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