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Here's how the media voted on the Conn Smythe Trophy

Kyle Cantlon
·Writer

Ryan O'Reilly, who had his own “match Gretzky” moment in Game 7 on Wednesday as the St. Louis Blues captured their first ever Stanley Cup, was a beast all postseason long.

He entered the season’s final game as the Blues’ front-runner for playoff MVP, pacing slightly ahead of rookie revelation Jordan Binnington and the two blue-line monsters in Colton Parayko and Alex Pietrangelo.

In the end, after another bad-ass performance from one of the NHL’s premier two-way centres, the voters got it right in giving O’Reilly his much-deserved MVP hardware.

Here’s how each of the 18 eligible voters — which included local beat writers and national U.S. and Canadian media — casted their ballots.

Here's how the vote broke down.
Here's how the vote broke down.

Voting was scored in a 5-3-1 format and the ballots were counted by the league with 10 minutes remaining in Game 7, according to the PHWA.

O'Reilly received 13 of 18 first-place votes, while Binnington took the other five and finished second. Bruins netminder Tuukka Rask, who would’ve been a lock for the award had the Bruins won, finished third.

O’Reilly was strong all postseason but really showed up against the Bruins, becoming the first player in NHL history to score in Games 4, 5, 6 and 7 of a Stanley Cup Final and becoming the first player with goals in four straight Cup Final games since Wayne Gretzky in 1985.

He tallied nine during the final series and set a new Blues franchise mark with 23 points during the postseason.

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JUNE 12: Ryan O'Reilly #90 of the St. Louis Blues celebrates with the Conn Smythe Trophy after defeating the Boston Bruins 4-1 to win Game Seven of the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden on June 12, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Ryan O'Reilly was a beast in the Stanley Cup Final. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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