It is time for Joel Hofer to be the St. Louis Blues’ starting goalie

If the St. Louis Blues are serious about staying in the playoff race, they might have to make an uncomfortable decision with their goaltending. The Blues have struggled this season in their own end, leading the league in goals against with 129 through 38 games. Some of the blame can be put on the team’s defensive play in their own zone, whether it involves costly turnovers, failing to pick up the trailing forward, or simply getting caught puck-watching. At the same time, the Blues' goaltending did not do them any favours for a large portion of the season.

Joel Hofer struggled early in the season, getting pulled in back-to-back starts and conceding 15 goals over three games in October. Since then, he has rediscovered his game. Jordan Binnington has been inconsistent all season, going through stretches of vintage performances, but has largely underperformed this season. Binnington only has three wins in his last 10 starts, and while three of his losses came in overtime, he still has not done enough to be the Blues' unquestioned starter moving forward.

Binnington currently has a 3.44 goals against average and a .870 save percentage, which are both the worst marks of his career. To put his numbers into perspective, out of 61 qualified goaltenders, Binnington’s goals against average is ranked 54th in the league, while his save percentage is ranked 58th. Even if the Blues’ defence has been subpar this season, his current back-up, Hofer, has substantially better numbers.

Even with Hofer’s slow start to the season, he still has a 2.91 goals against average and a .898 save percentage. While those numbers are not fantastic, they are still better than Binnington’s. Hofer’s goals against average is ranked 37th, while his save percentage ranks 33rd. There is also not a large gap in games played, with Binnington starting 21 compared to Hofer’s 17. With the numbers drastically different, it may be time for the Blues to give Hofer a run of games as the unquestioned starter.

Right now, Hofer gives the Blues their best chance of winning and should be given the opportunity to prove that he is the goalie of the future. The 2018 4th round pick has won five out of his last seven starts, while playing some of the best hockey of his career. The Blues are not in a position where they can afford to wait and see if Binnington rediscovers his past form. The team is currently three points out of the final wild card spot in the Western Conference, and if Hofer is the goalie who gives you the best chance of climbing back into the playoff race, it should be his job moving forward.