St. Louis Blues: 3 Reasons To Stick With Jordan Binnington For Now
The St. Louis Blues find themselves in an interesting position. Going into the playoffs, they had pretty much settled on their number one goaltender, at least to start.
Even with the best laid plans, you have to be able to adapt. St. Louis did that by turning to Jordan Binnington in Game 4 against the Minnesota Wild.
Goaltending is always a hot-button topic in every NHL city, especially St. Louis. No offense to Blues fans, but the only fan base I’ve seen be more ruthless and want a quicker hook is in Philadelphia.
There’s many reasons the Flyers have not won a Stanley Cup since the 1970’s. One of those reasons is they have a revolving door in goal.
The Blues were not quite to that level, but they had not solidified a number one for more than a handful of seasons in decades. Once they won the Cup, most thought Binnington would be that guy going forward.
The team seemed to agree. They gave him a multi-year contract worth $6 million per season.
It was all set to be a match made in heaven. Well, heaven on earth is never quite the same as we hope the eventual destination will be.
Binnington struggled the last two playoff years, though you could give a slight pass due to all the pandemic restrictions. Nevertheless, the luster had come off.
Ville Husso was seen as the next man up even before Binnington got the reigns. If not for an injury to Husso, Binnington would have never gotten his look in 2019.
We all know the rest of that story.
Now, the book is still being written. The tables have also turned.
Binnington lost his mojo for much of 2021-22 and lost his spot to Husso. Neither goaltender was spectacular down the stretch of the regular season, but Husso was still the more dependable of the two, so it made sense for him to enter the playoffs as the starter.
While Husso was not really at fault, it cannot be ignored that the Blues found themselves down 2-1 in the series with Husso in net. The series got evened up with Binnington in net and the team playing well in front of him.
So, what do they do now? I say stick with Binnington, for now anyway.
Earned it
One thing Blues fans have grown accustomed to, whether they agree or not, is goalies getting rewarded for a good game.
It wasn’t always the case, but definitely under Ken Hichcock, the goalies would get an extra look after a great performance. If you got a shutout, you were almost guaranteed to be between the pipes the next time out.
That tradition has continued with Craig Berube. I don’t expect it to change for Game 5 against the Minnesota Wild.
Let’s not overstate things. Binnington did not defeat the Wild single-handedly.
He was an integral part of that win, however. With the Blues squandering several power play chances in the first period of Game 4, Binnington had to come up large once the Wild started hemming St. Louis into their zone late in the game.
Roughly midway through that contest, Binnington had only faced nine shots and given up a goal. Statistically, it did not look great on Binnington, even though he had made a couple good stops.
That all turned around in the late stages of the second period and the third. Binnington was under siege.
He may have only faced 30 shots total, but a lot of those second half shots were of high quality. St. Louis still had trouble clogging up the slot, so Binnington had to be confident in his positioning.
Again, Binnington didn’t need to make those highlight reel saves, but he earned the first star of the game. He’s earned another look in goal in the next game.
He’s been there before
Playoff experience can definitely be overrated, especially for on-ice players. Conversely, sometimes it is underestimated with goalies.
There is no doubt that Binnington was a reason the Blues lost in the last two playoffs. However, you cannot deny he was one of the main reasons they won in 2019.
It is true that you cannot base an entire career on one playoff run, even if you win a Stanley Cup. But, when you know it’s in there, you have the hope that he can return to that form.
Husso was not to blame for much, if any, of the team’s woes in their two losses to Minnesota. Still, he’s not tested.
When I say not tested, I don’t mean he has no playoff experience. He had some playoff games with his Finnish team as a teenager and a short run with the Chicago Wolves. That was all five or more years ago.
Binnington has been the main horse for the Blues the last three seasons. He’s a bit more accustomed to the physicality that will come near and into the crease.
One good game in 2022 does not put him back on 2019 status. He is not the starter for the rest of the playoffs, but the fact he’s done it before gives the Blues plenty of reason to think he can go on another run.
We’ve been here before
This would not be the first time the Blues have swapped up goalies in the playoffs. It will likely not be the last time either.
This stuff happens. A team doesn’t perform well enough in front of their goalie or the goalie has a hiccup or two, that team turns to their other netminder and then they ride him for a few games.
We don’t even have to look that far in the past for the Blues example. During the 2020 playoffs, the Blues started with Binnington.
Both he and the team were not playing well at all. St. Louis turned to Jake Allen, who started in both wins against the Vancouver Canucks to tie that series.
It did not work out perfectly as Allen lost Game 5 and then Binnington allowed four goals in 28 minutes in Game 6. Nevertheless, it showed that the Blues were not afraid to go back and forth depending on whichever guy they thought would give them the best opportunity on that night.
The Blues did it with Allen and Brian Elliott too. Allen played in five games in 2015-16 and started two of those. St. Louis was trying to ride Elliott’s hot hand and came within two games of the Cup final.
So, that is all they would be doing right now. They would be riding the hot hand.
The Blues would be free to go back to Husso if Binnington looks shaky, win or lose. They would not be wrong to keep going with Binnington either.
None of these decisions would impact their decision for next season either. As well as Elliott played in 2016, the Blues knew they were ready to give the net to Allen and the finances demanded room be made.
Conversely, the Blues might be forced to stick with Binnington in 2022-23 no matter what Husso does in these playoffs. Or, they may very well look to move Binnington’s contract and let Husso take over. Remember, St. Louis still has Joel Hofer in the wings and he’s another “goaltender of the future”.
So, whatever the Blues do right now in this series or the next, doesn’t impact that much. It’s an old cliche, but the Blues are literally taking this one game at a time.
I say stick with Binnington, but only for now. If he wins the next one, keep going.
If he wins the series, start Binnington against Colorado. If he falters in Game 1 of that potential series, you swap back to Husso.
In the past, I would have been completely against this idea. You used to treat goalies like quarterbacks – if you don’t have a clear starter, you don’t have two good enough to win. Things have changed.
Next. 3 reasons Blues can win the 2022 Cup. dark
Honestly, you cannot win without two goalies. The Montreal Canadiens came close riding Carey Price, but that’s the exception, not the rule these days. Even Tampa needed to rely on their backup here and there.
The Blues are fortunate enough to have two goalies that can win you games. Might as well utilize that and reward the guy who just got you a win.