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A hockey team can come back from that deficit.

Three-nothing? Something special would have to happen.

Sure enough, the Blues were down 2-0 in Tuesday’s second period — and were being outshot on the road 21-11 — when Colton Parayko coughed up the puck.

The crackling Kraken forwards fired off a pair of passes — and a fellow named Oliver Bjorkstrand was suddenly point-blank with the puck on his stick. Goalie Jordan Binnington, frantic yet composed, pushed across the crease and reached for Bjorkstrand’s shot, snagging it in his mitt. Seattle couldn’t score. Binnington’s save made sure of it.

Trailing by two, the Blues proceeded to score three times in that second period ... and held on to win, 3-2, in the season opener.

Yes, the big storyline out of Tuesday’s game was Blues forward Jordan Kyrou, who netted two goals after an offseason of chatter about his heart and head. But Binnington, ol’ reliable, saved the day yet again.

Much of the offseason talk regarding Binnington? It revolved around his save percentage. Last year, at .913, it was tied for 10th-best in the whole league. And his advanced stats were even more encouraging. He kept Blues in games the Blues otherwise wouldn’t have been in.

OK, but could he do it two years in a row?

Smallest of sample sizes, but he sure looks like he can.

“Binner was outstanding early on when we weren’t at our best — we saw that a lot last year.� Blues coach Drew Bannister told reporters in Seattle after the victory. “We had to rely on him early to keep (the Seattle) game close. And I thought he did that well for us. The guys rallied for him, and we found a way to win a hockey game for him.�

Binnington saved 30 of 32 shots at Seattle (.935 save percentage). Surely he’d want back the goal allowed to former teammate Vince Dunn — Binner made a high-level save but couldn’t corral the rebound (while Dunn did). But overall, it was an imperative performance.

The Blues play Thursday in San Jose. And Friday in Vegas. So Binner will start one, and Joel Hofer, the confident and talented young netminder, will start the other. The duo was splendid a season ago. According the renowned stat site Natural Stat Trick, the Blues were third in the National Hockey League in goals saved above expected.

Last season, NHL teams averaged 2,483 shots. The Blues allowed 2,636 shots — and only seven teams in the whole league allowed more. Yet the Blues goalies had a combined save percentage of .906 — sixth-best.

Of course, the fear here is that ºüÀêÊÓƵ will allow an exorbitant amount of shots this year, too. Which leads to some skepticism Binnington and Hofer can repeat their dominance. Tuesday was a microcosm of last year, as we saw every defenseman make at least one careless mistake. And the Kraken peppered Binnington in the first two periods — though credit to Bannister, as he and his D-men made changes in the third period to keep shooting way down.

For Binnington personally, last season was important as he changed the trajectory of his narrative. A legend after just his first season, his numbers had slipped in later years. But 2023-24 reminded ºüÀêÊÓƵ of just what No. 50 could do between the pipes. It was a reassuring season.

And now, as the 31-year-old starts into his seventh season (he has played in eight total seasons), he’s on pace to make more history as a Blues goalie. In fact, he’s already made some this season. The season opener was his 281st game played, surpassing Curtis Joseph’s total for third-most by a goalie in Blues history (trailing Jake Allen and Mike Liut, who happens to be Binnington’s agent).

Speaking of No. 1, the great Liut is also No. 1 in wins by a Blues goalie. Well, Binnington should catch him this winter (heck, maybe even this fall). Tuesday’s win gave Binner 145 wins in his ºüÀêÊÓƵ career. His old pal Allen has the second-most wins with 148, while Liut is just five ahead of his client with 151.

Should be a fun night when Binnington sets the mark, especially if it’s at Enterprise Center.

As for the Blues, you know the story. They missed the playoffs in each of the past two seasons. Only once in franchise history have they gone three straight years without a postseason berth. The Blues are building by accumulating young talent.

But I’ll point out that writer Greg Wyshynski from thinks “it’s in the Blues’ best interests to have the best draft lottery odds possible at this point, but (president of hockey operations/general manager) Doug Armstrong’s teams have a stubborn way of always competing. ... And Binnington is good enough to keep a team from ever being as bad as the Blues should want to be at this point. Even as a Binnington skeptic, his posting of a 14.9 goals saved above expected last season is absolutely stellar.”

Just a mere 81 games to go. But Binnington has started this campaign the necessary way. He has planted his flag and proclaimed, with his play, that he can make big saves.

I believe he can even save a season — or, in last year’s case, at least salvage a season, as the Blues flirted with the playoffs late into the year.