Blues O'Reilly calls this playoffs 'the hardest tournament he will ever play'

If anyone knows what it takes to win, it's the Blues, Ryan O'Reilly. One of the best two-way centers in the game, he also happens to know how to bring his best for the playoffs, as O'Reilly was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy winner last season for playoff MVP. This year looks, feels, and smells completely different, and O'Reilly knows, it will be the biggest test of his career.

Every team is starting from scratch. Every team that's involved in this right now is looking that they have an opportunity to win a Stanley Cup, so it's going to be one of the toughest stretches of hockey that any of us will ever be in and the toughest tournament that any of us - it's like nothing else. It's going to be extremely difficult - I think as a group we know that. We know it's going to be completely different from last year. We're not coming in finishing a season playing very well and having momentum and coming in. We're all starting at the same point

O'Reilly has been training like a mad man, to ensure he's in top shape to jump into the grueling battles of playoff hockey. He hopes the rest of his teammates are doing the same and the team can build off their magical Cup run, to find lightning in a bottle again this year.

There's so many things that will be unfortunate - being away from our families, being confined in these small spaces. But I think it's important for our game - the growth of it - to be able to salvage this season and have a winner, not let the whole thing go to waste. But again, the priority is the safety and the safety of our families, the guys, whether they've had young kids or have kids ... that's definitely the priority. But I think the NHL's doing a good job putting in good practices to help us make sure nothing happens. But again, there's still a lot of uncertainty