The hockey world has been in awe of this marvelous tournament of nations this past week. Since the NHL season has been on pause, these last handful of games have been considered the best hockey games of all time.
With Canada securing the 4 Nations trophy over the United States in a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory, the script has been written that the rest of the NHL regular season is going to be a knock-out, drag-out brawl to the finish line.
The fans should be thanking the NHL for putting this on, and so should the teams. There will be injuries from this tournament, that have been spoken on by many people in the know, but every single player in the NHL player is motivated to make the most of this season.
The St. Louis Blues should be the most thankful. As Colton Parayko and Jordan Binnington were on the winning end of this monumental tournament, they both got a serious confidence boost for the rest of this season. Nothing like gearing up for the playoffs when you just played the definition of a playoff hockey game against the United States.
Saved the season?
Earlier in the tournament, we discussed that the 4 Nations Final will dictate how the rest of this season will go. With a focus on Binnington, as he holds the keys to the Kingdom as the last line of defense, there was no potential playoff run if Canada lost the big game. But, in true Binnington fashion, he showed up when it mattered most.
Now, after defeating one of the best hockey teams ever assembled, Binnington can take this confidence and use it toward being a light-out goaltender for the Blues over the next two months. The outcome of the tournament might have reallly saved the Blues season.
For Parayko, he can also really benefit from this tournament and tack on to the career year he is already having. There is an opportunity for him to shatter a Blues record and join some very elite company in the Blues record book. If he can continue scoring big goals for the rest of the way and hit the 20-goal plateau, he will be the fifth Blue ever to do it. The current record for goals in a season is 25, which was done by Jeff Brown in the 1992-93 season. Parayko currently has 12 goals for the year.
We are going to see all around the NHL just how much of an impact this tournament had on the players. And, all the players at home loved the fact that these guys were going out there every night and risking life and limb for their respective countries. That kind of mindset is going to transition to each player now willing to risk it all for the team they play for. That means it is all systems that go on the playoffs, starting now.
The Blues will benefit the most out of anyone in this tournament, as their chances have significantly increased to make the playoffs.