St. Louis Blues Jordan Binnington Snubbed In Decade List

St. Louis Blues fans are used to their team and players getting overlooked by the league and the national media. However, the snub of their goaltender is a little more than we are used to.

The St. Louis Blues and their fans are used to getting a little of the cold shoulder from national media. It is just easier to focus on teams from out east or way out west.

Those particular cities, plus Chicago, have a larger population. So, the theory is that more people means more fans. Blues fans showing up at every single road game in 2019-20 is disproving that, but I digress.

If nothing else, a lot of it simply comes from the vast majority of media members being in those cities. It is easier for a reporter or league correspondent to discuss something about the Rangers or Capitals or Penguins because they are all right around one another and they see those teams on a regular basis.

We can call it east coast bias if we want, because it sort of is. However, as Blues fans, we know more about Chicago, Dallas and Nashville than many national media members do because we see them all the time.

Regardless, to the point, Jordan Binnington got hosed when the league unveiled their save of the decade. That honor went to Brayden Holtby for a save he made in the 2017-18 Stanley Cup Final.

It’s a good save. There’s nothing wrong with it.

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As you can see in the video above, it shows great determination on Holtby’s part. He did not give up on the play, getting his paddle down on the ice to keep out a seemingly sure goal for the Vegas Golden Knights.

It definitely was a game changer. The Golden Knights were already up one game in the series and that save was a big part of Washington winning the game.

However, there is a lot of luck involved. Lots of goaltenders do the exact same thing and still get scored on because the puck gets lifted. All credit to Holtby for getting back to where he could even get a piece of the puck, but we’ve seen similar saves.

Jake Allen made a similar save in his rookie year.

To me, admitting all bias, that is just as good a save if not better. Allen knocked it out of midair.

Allen’s save was not even credited as being save of the year. Yet, Holtby’s similar save gets save of the decade?

Give it extra credit for being in the Cup Final, but still. It was not as good as Binnington’s save a year later.

Binnington basically won the Stanley Cup with this one save, in addition to several other key stops. This one was not just in a Stanley Cup Final game, but in THE game – a Game 7.

The score was 2-0 St. Louis, so this was a gigantic save for momentum. If Boston scores, the lead is cut in half and the TD Garden starts rocking instead of filled with nervous/negative energy.

Instead, Binnington changes the entire complexion of the game with that save. Boston loses hope and the Blues get the momentum boost and go on to score more goals and seal the win.

If nothing else, the save in and of itself is better. It is one thing to reach back with your stick, but we see goalies do that every single week, if not every game. Sometimes they make the stop and sometimes not.

The athleticism it took for Binnington to make his stop is unbelievable. If you watch closely, even with his upper body momentum leaning forward, he still has the leg strength to reach out, post his left leg briefly and push off one extra bit that meant all the difference.

Without that little push, Binnington goes down a split second too early or perhaps not enough to his right and Joakim Nordstrom scores. Instead, the save is made and the Blues go on to win the Stanley Cup in that do-or-die game.

This is not so much meant to belittle the save made by Holtby. It was a great save and came in an important time for his team. It did not absolutely win that game or that series.

Every case can be made that Binnington’s save did win that game and the series. Yet, here we are.

St. Louis left in the cold again because the people deciding these things simply remember the things from certain teams or markets more. Sadly, I believe if Tuukka Rask makes that same save and Boston wins, he would have the save of the decade.

In the end, nobody will really care. The Blues and the fans have what they want, which is the Stanley Cup. Nevertheless, it still amazes that our team gets forgotten so quickly even in their best moments.