As of late, the goaltending for the St. Louis Blues has started to look like a bright spot compared to the rest of the issues plaguing this team. Injuries have ripped through this team, and the lack of offense has left the goaltending out to dry.
Backup Joel Hofer has been the steadier of the two netminders, as Jordan Binnington has been shaky over his last six starts. At 2-3-1, he allowed 22 goals in the last six starts, and has a save percentage of .843. That is abysmal.
But Hofer has been much better lately, up until the contest against Nashville on Monday night. Over his last seven appearances, which included some relief time for Binnington getting pulled early, he has a record of 3-2-0. No. 30 has saved 158 of 171 shots, for a save percentage of .924. Over that span, he shut out a very good Utah Mammoth team, beat Ottawa on home ice, and handled the Chicago Blackhawks on ESPN+.
But that all came crashing down in the aforementioned loss to Nashville on Monday, 5-2. Hofer allowed four goals on 25 shots, including the opening goal in just 27 seconds into the first period. The Blues were behind early and could never catch up, and that is due to Hofer.
Dethroning Binnington?
Even after all of the recent disappointment from the franchise leader in wins, this is still Binnington's team. He is the starter, but the gap is starting to close on the two goaltenders.
Had Hofer mirrored his performance against Chicago for the second Nashville game, there was a valid argument to be made that the split should be 50/50. But that did not happen, and now head coach Jim Montgomery has to figure out when to pick and choose these two.
If Hofer can forget about this most recent snafu against Nashville and make his next two or three starts flawless victories, the wheels should start turning toward a swap in roles. Binnington controls his destiny, and his biggest worry should not be overthrown by Hofer, but instead, giving his Blues teammates a solid performance.
Is it time yet to start thinking about moving Hofer above Binnington in the depth chart?