The latest STL Blues hockey news, NHL headlines, scores, standings and rosters.

St. Louis Blues center Ryan O'Reilly (90) shoots from one knee against the Colorado Avalanche during the third period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series Tuesday, May 17, 2022, in Denver.

The Blues won a paltry 36 percent of their faceoffs Tuesday in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series with Colorado, their second-worst faceoff night of the season — regular-season and postseason games included.

Forty-eight hours later, the Blues won 61 percent of their faceoffs in Game 2, which tied for their sixth-best night in the circle.

The 25-percent game-to-game improvement was the biggest of the season.

So what was the difference? What was done to get the faceoff crew back on track?

“Nothing much,” coach Craig Berube said, nonchalantly. “They just had a bad night (Tuesday). A lot better night for sure (Thursday). I thought everybody was really good on faceoffs, which is important. We start with the puck and they don’t.”

There’s some technique involved and some pre-scouting can help. But for Berube, the biggest key to success on faceoffs is who wants it more.

“It’s being a little bit more competitive there,” he said. “There’s guys that watch the faceoffs, too, and they look at what they can do better and how the other team — their players — are taking draws. Things like that.”

After Tuesday’s bad night, captain Ryan O’Reilly was seen working on faceoffs at the end of Thursday’s morning skate at Ball Arena in Denver.

“They do all the time,” Berube said, referring to the team’s centers. “That’s consistent throughout the season.”

O’Reilly has consistently been among the NHL’s top faceoff men for years. He won 62 percent (16 for 26) of his faceoffs Thursday. All told, five of the six Blues who took faceoffs in Game 2 had a win rate of better than 50 percent.

O’Reilly’s face is having a much better time so far in the Colorado series than was the case in Round 1 against Minnesota. The Wild’s Kevin Fiala drew blood when he got O’Reilly with a high stick near the eye, drawing a four-minute penalty. O’Reilly also got whacked in the face by the stick of a Minnesota player in the series while down on the ice, with no penalty called.

But if you think those two incidents were enough to have O’Reilly rethink wearing a visor — think again.

“No. I think I’m a little bit beyond that,” he said. “I don’t think about putting one on. And I drew blood, so four-minute (penalty) there. I’ll take that. But definitely don’t rethink it.”

Starting with the 2013-14 season, all players were required to wear visors unless they had appeared in more than 25 games at the time. O’Reilly already had played four NHL seasons by then, so the rule didn’t apply to him. He was, in essence, grandfathered in, and chose to stay visor-less.

“Vision purposes,” he said. “I think it’s a lot easier to see (without one). Sweating and everything, if you watch, guys are constantly cleaning their visors and getting water so it’s just nice not having that. It makes it a little clearer to see. It’s a little more dangerous at times and such but I’m just so used to it I don’t think I could switch.”

There are only about a dozen players left in the league who don’t use visors.

After sweeping their best-of-five Atlantic Division semifinal series against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the Springfield Thunderbirds open the division finals Sunday against the Charlotte Checkers in the AHL playoffs. That’s also a best-of-five series.

During the regular season, Springfield took the season series, 6-2-0, but Charlotte nudged out the T-Birds for the division title on a tiebreaker (more wins in regulation). Both teams finished the regular season with a .625 points percentage.

So far in the postseason, Dakota Joshua, Mackenzie MacEachern, Sam Anas, Will Bitten and Matthew Peca share the goal-scoring lead for Springfield with two apiece. Joshua, MacEachern and Peca all played for the Blues this season.

• Steven Santini, who was with the Blues for the first two games of the Colorado series as an extra defenseman, has been re-assigned to the Springfield Thunderbirds.

• The featured Blues player on Saturday’s Game 3 rally towel at Enterprise Center is Jordan Kyrou.

The latest STL Blues hockey news, NHL headlines, scores, standings and rosters.

Jim Thomas covers Blues hockey for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

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The Blues are set to take on the Colorado Avalanche in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Nothing official, but Blues expect Colorado series to begin either Tuesday or Wednesday.

Perron scores twice, giving him a team-best seven goals in the postseason.

Late goal by Kyrou sends it into overtime before OT goal by Manson wins it for Colorado.

This will be only the third time the teams have faced off in the playoffs, with the Avalanche winning both previous meetings. 

Hockey postseason contests could start, and last a long time, on off Broadway outlets

Last year at this time, the veteran forward was facing the Blues as a member of the Colorado Avalanche.

Blues were swept in four games — and embarrassed — in playoff series against Colorado last year.

Twice over the last month, the Minnesota Wild knocked Nick Leddy out of the lineup. He responded by helping to knock the Wild out of the playoffs.

Avalanche showed Blues just how skilled and swift they are during regular season, but the Blues displayed their scoring prowess and resiliency.

St. Louis Blues center Ryan O'Reilly (90) shoots from one knee against the Colorado Avalanche during the third period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series Tuesday, May 17, 2022, in Denver.

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