2 weeks Ago By The Hockey News - St. Louis Blues
MARYLANDHEIGHTS, Mo. -- It’scome to that time again for St. Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington.
Thestage is bright, all eyes will be on a series against VezinaTrophy-winning counterpart, Connor Hellebuyck, of the Winnipeg Jetsand when the lights are at full beam, can Binnington rise to theoccasion once again when each and every time, despite being a StanleyCup champion as a rookie (in 2019) and again, when he performed atpeak level for his country and fueled Canada to a 4 Nations Face-Offwin against the United States (3-2 in overtime)?TheBlues (44-30-8), who finished as the second wild card from theWestern Conference, and the Jets (56-22-4), Presidents’ Trophywinners as well as Central Division winners, square off in abest-of-7 first round series starting Saturday and plenty of focuswill be on the two goaltenders, who went at it in the series theBlues won in 2019 in six games as well as the 4 Nations final.There’sHellebuyck, who could very well win the Hart Trophy and be the firstsince Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens (2015) to win the Vezinaand Hart. The Jets goalie was 47-12-3 with a 2.
00 goals-againstaverage and .925 save percentage to lead the league in all threecategories, including wins.Hehas all the pedigree when it comes to the regular season butplayoffs, it’s a whole different story.
He’s 18-27 with a 2.85GAA and .911 save percentage, including going 2-8 and beingeliminated in the first round in each of the past two seasons and hasone playoff win the past five years.
“Obviouslyhe’s had a tremendous year, he’s a great goaltender,”Binnington said of Hellebuyck. “It’s kind of my, not my job tothink about that, right? It’s just focusing on myself and doingwhat I can to be my best, to give our team a chance to win.”Andthat’s where Binnington excels.
The31-year-old, who was 13-3-1 down the stretch with a 2.23 GAA and .910 save percentage to finish with a 28-22-5mark and a 2.
69 GAA and .900 save percentage, couldn’t care lessabout how good or what his counterpart has done. He’s done a greatjob of locking in and honing in on himself, what he’s done and whathe has to do to help the Blues prepare to pull the upset in thisseries.
Butmake no mistake: when he looks down at the other end and sees who hehas to outduel, it’ll be game on.Call him 'Big Game' Binnington.“Ithink it’s on you, it’s on me to just be the best version ofmyself,” Binnington said.
“I think when you focus on that, youreally simplify it and you don’t compare and create outsidenarratives. I do what I can do and I believe in myself, too, to getthe job done.”Sodo his teammates and his coaches.
“It’swhat he lives for,” Blues forward Jake Neighbours said ofBinnington. “I think as any player, you want to thrive in those bigmoments, you want to be ready in those big moments and perform forthem. In ‘Binner’s case, he enjoys those moments, he relishesthem.
Obviously in the Cup run, 4 Nations, time after time you seehim in big moments, even on our winning streak there and big gamestrying to get into the playoffs. Just going into the game as a teamknowing you have that guy in your crease is so confidence-boostingand just gives you the comfortability to be able to play your gameand know, if we do make a mistake, that we’ve got that guy backthere to bail us out most times. So, obviously we have to play wellin front of him to give him the best opportunity to succeed, but wehave all the confidence in the world that he’s going to play likenormal ‘Binner’ in these situations.
”It’swhy when the temperature rises, so does Binnington’s game.InGame 7 of the Cup Final against the Boston Bruins, he stopped 32 of33 shots in a 4-1 win, playing spectacular in the first period to give his team a chance. In the 4 Nations championship against USA,Binnington stopped 29 of 31 shots, including several of thehighlight-reel variety in overtime to preserve the chance to win forCanada.
And on Tuesday needing a win-and-get-in regulation winagainst Utah Hockey Club, he stopped 22 of 23 in a 6-1 win.Whenthe temperature’s at its highest, he seems to rise to the occasion.“Ithink because mentally, he has incredibly positive thoughts,” Bluescoach Jim Montgomery said.
“His self-talk is incredibly positiveand he sees himself doing great things in big moments. And it’s amindset and thank God he’s our goaltender.”Whenthe Winnipeg ‘White Out’ takes full affect on Saturday, it’llbe about intimidation, it’ll be about trying to rattle a goalie’spsyche, it’ll be about trying to shake a foundation to favor thefavorite guy they’ve come to love in Manitoba.
Butone thing about Jordan Binnington is he’s learned to stay in tunnelvision, stay composed under pressure situations and try to perform atpeak level, just like when he was a rookie in helping the Blues to aseries win in six games that culminated in a Stanley Cup.Comeplayoff time, it’s an elevated focus and one this goalie has primedhimself for in the past.“Ithink it’s more of the same, just control what you can control,”Binningtonsaid.
“It’s the same old story with that. it’s an enhancedenvironment and a series, so you just have to do your best andregroup after every game, win or loss you regroup and it’s a newgame and a new challenge.”.
