The St. Louis Blues continue to stay winless for the preseason, dropping to 0-2-1 after Saturday night's loss to Chicago 4-2. One of the bright spots of the game was Goaltender Jordan Binnington, who has had a very strong preseason stint thus far.
In four periods of play, he has only allowed one goal on 36 shots faced. Yes, it is only the preseason, but it is an excellent sign that Binnington is warming up nicely.
Let's talk about why this is so important, and what it could mean for the regular season.
Strong start, strong middle, strong finish
One of the only cons from last season's successful year was that the Blues were a very erratic team. They couldn't string together wins in abundance, prior to breaking the franchise record with 12 of them at the end of the year, but they also wouldn't lose a bunch in a row either.
That was in large part due to the performance of their goaltender, Binnington, who was not at his best for most of the year in 2024-25. He was underwhelming and not like his usual self. It wasn't until the 4 Nations Face-off and his incredible showing as Team Canada's championship-winning team that the Binnington of old started shining back through.
Had he been on his A-game all season, there was a very good chance that the ending of last season could have been much different. The Blues might have been able to be a top-3 finisher in the Central Division, and maybe did not have to face off against the Winnipeg Jets. The road to move through the playoffs might have been easier, but it might also have been harder.
A strong preseason so far only leaves positive thoughts. A strong start can lead to a strong middle of the season and then a strong finish prior to the playoffs. The Blues have to rely on Binnington to be consistent this season, as back-up Joel Hofer's potential hasn't been tapped yet.
There is no margin for error, and Binnington is going into this upcoming season with the highest expectations of any to have a good year.