Jordan Binnington is struggling and the St. Louis Blues are following suit, 4-5-1 in their last ten games. Binnington exploded onto the scene last year during what was a remarkable story for the St. Louis Blues as they went from worst in the league in January 2019 to Stanley Cup Champions in June. Binnington was the last chance saloon for a team who had fired their head coach and were sitting last in NHL standings and a .927 save percentage (SV%) from his debut to the end of the regular season was a major reason behind St. Louis’ run to the playoffs and ultimately a cup.
After getting paid in the summer, signing a $4.4 million AAV two year contract, Jordan Binnington started this season strong with a .914 SV% through 10 games. He had two really poor games against the Montreal Canadiens and the Detroit Red Wings where he finished with .865 and .879 SV% respectively, but also recorded above .930 SV% in four games during that period.
However, since the turn of the year Binnington has been anything but impressive. While there have been good games (San Jose and Buffalo) he has also recorded under a .900 SV% six times in 10 games. His SV% for the last ten games currently sits at .864 as of writing which included a .636 against Colorado on January 18th in 36:48 of ice time before being pulled in a 5-3 loss.
He also challenged Justin Bieber to a breakaway challenge. If the singer scores even one of ten 1v1 shots the goalie would donate to a charity of Bieber’s choosing. Some in the media have jokingly asked if maybe the Despacito singer has jinxed Binnington, since his poor run of form seemed to start after the challenge took place on Instagram.
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More than likely though this is simply a rut for the St. Louis 3rd round draft pick from 2011, as they look to repeat their Stanley Cup success. They currently sit six points clear in the Central Division and to a degree they can afford for the funk to hit now. However to get that coveted top spot and guarantee home ice advantage during the playoffs will be huge for the Blues and to do that Binnington will need to come out of this slide. For the Blues they will be hoping that starts tonight against Central rivals the Dallas Stars.
