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COHEN: St. Louis Blues Goaltender Jordan Binnington Continues to Prove Naysayers Wrong

NHL Jun 3, 2019; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues defenseman Colton Parayko (55) and goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) react after defeating the Boston Bruins in game four of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final at Enterprise Center. Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports
NHL Rookies
2019-06-05, 16:30
Russ Cohen
Contributor
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St. Louis Blues netminder Jordan Binnington has put in a season for the ages. Some would say it’s amazing. A few others might say he’s lucky, and some are still waiting for the proverbial bubble to burst on this magical season for the 25-year-old rookie.

The spark may have started against the Philadelphia Flyers in early January. He got the start, his first-ever — he had backed up before — and he did what he needed to do. He posted a shutout, the first of his career, and that was just a start.

“That was a pretty good outcome tonight. I was a little nervous but at the same time calm. Just trying to focus on my job and just stop the puck,” Binnington said calmly. “I was excited to finally get the call. It was a long road. I’m happy where I’m at right now. I’m happy to get in action and be a part of the solution on the rise with the Blues. I’ll continue to push the guys in practice and hopefully when I’m called upon and get another win.”

St. Louis Blues head coach Craig Berube deserves some credit on the team’s run but the start of it was this newbie changing the mindset in the locker room and making the team believe in themselves again.

“That was great to see and great to be a part of. You can tell in the room everyone was excited and excited to play. Sometimes the boys rally around a young guy and it makes them come together a bit,” Binnington stated.

Binnington was named one of the NHL’s Three Stars of the Week in early January. He stopped 74 of the 76 shots he faced, compiling a 3-0-0 record with a 0.67 goals-against average, .974 save percentage

At that point, it was a nice story. That’s it.

Then Binnington earned “Rookie of the Month” honours in February. He led all netminders (rookies and veterans) with ten wins and four shutouts in 11 appearances (10-1-0, 1.44 GAA, .945 SV%, 4 SO). The prospect goalie became the ninth rookie tender in NHL history to earn ten-plus wins in a calendar month – and the first to achieve the feat since Detroit’s Jimmy Howard in March 2010 (12-2-1). He also became the tenth rookie netminder in League history to post a nine-game winning streak (Jan. 23 – Feb. 19) as well as the fourth to win each of his first seven home starts (Jan. 10 – present), joining Frank McCool (8), Ken Dryden (8) and Wayne Thomas (7).

At this point, it was more than a hot streak or a goalie change that was transforming the Blues. It was the will of a player who finally had made it. After seven years of waiting. He was once ranked the top OHL goalie and then he started to fade in most fans’ memories.

In early April, Binnington was named the “Rookie of the Month”, again, now he was becoming a serious Calder contender as his team rolled on. He went
22-5-1 (1.78 GAA, .931 SV%, 5 SO) since that Flyers shutout. He was now not only the best rookie backstop, but he was one of the best in the league, on paper.

Before the Cup began, Berube paid his netminder the highest compliment, “Well, that’s a tough one to point out one situation where, I think the best one is when [Binnington] had to face his first adversity when he lost a game and we put him back in there the next game and he played outstanding. I think we knew that we were, he was pretty calm about things and just even-keeled all the time.

“It just didn’t seem like anything really got to him. Whether he didn’t, he let a couple of bad goals in or whatever it was. And there was a number of times this year where some bad goals go in or something and then he shut the door. So obviously from a mental standpoint, he’s in a good spot and has been for quite some time.”

Binnington gets in the Stanley Cup Final. He has had some ups and downs but has been solid. Getting pulled once means nothing when you get to the point where the series is tied with three games to go. On one of the off days, he played some head games with Bruins defenseman, Torrey Krug, who skated by him after a big hit on Robert Thomas in Game 1 that has seen him miss significant playing time in the Cup. Folks thought he said something to the goalie, but it was deeper than that.

“It was more of a stare and [Krug’s] pupils were pretty big and don’t know if he was on something. He was pretty fired up. It was a big hit, a big play, the rink was excited and loud. It’s a fun atmosphere to play in,” Binnington said.

In the end, Andy Chiodo should probably get a chance to hoist the Cup if the Blues can pull this off. He works with him at Biosteel Sports in Toronto in the offseason. He got him through the mess of a shared affiliation, almost being annexed to the ECHL, and now close to the mountaintop. When asked about him, [Binnington] is not giving away “state” secrets.

“Working with Andy, nothing too specific, just being consistent and getting that confidence back and the belief. Having a good lifestyle.”

Still think he can’t do it?

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