The Blues coach chastises Binnington over his most recent antics: Merely “stop the puck.”
Although Jordan Binnington is one of the NHL’s streakiest goalies, few of his contemporaries can match him when he is playing at the highest level. Regretfully, Binnington’s on-ice antics are becoming more well-known, and even his teammates are growing weary of them.
Throughout his NHL career, Binnington has been prone to outbursts, but this season, he’s doing so considerably more frequently than normal. His recent poor play led him to vent his resentment on Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jason Zucker during Saturday’s 6-2 defeat.
After conceding three goals during the first period, Binnington clipped Zucker dangerously as the Penguins forward circled the net. Zucker continued in the competition despite colliding with the boards and taking a while to stand up.
Zucker would have the last laugh, but Binnington would not be punished.
With extra motivation, Zucker rejoined the game and chased Binnington from the game by sniping one past him. The goal was one that the Blues goalie should have stopped. Normally, the shame of becoming addicted would be sufficient to quell any outburst, but Binnington had other intentions. After the Blues goalie was taken out of the game, Binnington tried to make fun of Zucker by skating by the Penguins bench. Zucker was just confused and didn’t remark on the event after the game. Binnington received a 10-minute misconduct penalty for his antics.
Although opponents have always considered Binnington to be a nuisance, it is now evident that he is irritating his own head coach.
The Blues’ season has been well captured in Binnington. When we last checked in, Binnington and the Blues looked to be turning things around, winning seven straight games largely thanks to the 29-year-old’s outstanding play. But after the run was broken on November 23, Binnington’s play has deteriorated dramatically once more; in his last five starts, all of which have resulted in losses, he has given up 21 goals.
It appears that Binnington’s mindset and the team’s win-loss record are related. He just loses his cool when faced with difficulty, and he’s been trying more often to hurt players. He tried something similar against Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal last week, but the Blues star’s manoeuvre didn’t work out.
Binnington has the talent to be one of the NHL’s finest goalies. He’s currently shown himself to be little more than a laughable spectacle, and the Blues are still by far the most capricious and inconsistent team in the NHL.