RALEIGH, N.C. — Heading into the Christmas break, Jordan Binnington wasn’t playing his cheeriest hockey.
He allowed five goals in back-to-back starts, which included a game against the Lightning in which he was yanked in the second period and a 15-save performance in a comeback win over the Blackhawks.
But after a stellar performance in a 2-1 shootout win over Carolina on Saturday night, Binnington has returned to form.
“‘Binner’ was a catalyst for us,†Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said. “He made some saves to keep us in the game. He was outstanding.â€
Binnington’s performance entering the recent holiday break was part of the reason backup Joel Hofer received the start against the Stars on Dec. 27 and two of the first three games for the Blues after Christmas.
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Since returning from break, Binnington has made 75 saves on the 79 shots he’s faced (.949 save percentage) to go with a 1.31 goals-against average. Before the break, he’d allowed five goals in consecutive starts.
“It was nice just to reset,†Binnington said. “Take those days and get away and come back to it. We’re playing hard, we’re playing the right way, which is giving us a chance to win. Try to keep doing that, stay with it, keep learning, keep growing and evolving, and we’ll be all right.â€
Binnington’s only blemish on Saturday night was a power-play goal he allowed in the first period, by Teuvo Teravainen on a faceoff. Binnington appeared to be screened by defenseman Marco Scandella.
Other than that — and Sebastian Aho’s fourth-round shootout attempt — Binnington was perfect.
“‘Binner’ was great,†Blues captain Brayden Schenn said. “He’s been great for us all year. Those are the two points you need to win to keep pace with the rest of the league.â€
The Hurricanes controlled possession at five on five, particularly in the second and third periods, and had 69 shot attempts to ºüÀêÊÓƵ’ 38. Overall, Carolina had 77 shot attempts, but the Blues blocked 25 of them and the Hurricanes missed the net 22 more times.
According to analytics site MoneyPuck, the Hurricanes generated 3.96 expected goals at all strengths, meaning Binnington saved nearly three goals above expected. His performance Saturday was his fourth-best of the season in terms of goals saved above expected, falling behind Dec. 4 in Vegas (4.182), Nov. 3 vs. New Jersey (3.267) and Nov. 14 vs. Tampa Bay (3.247).
“He was great,†Blues defenseman Nick Leddy said. “Made huge saves when we needed them. I thought he looked really steady all night, and kept us in the game.â€
In backstopping the Blues, Binnington ended a few notable streaks on the other side of the ice.
The Hurricanes had won the previous five games, outscoring their opponents 25-10 in the process. Aho and Andrei Svechnikov entered with matching six-game point streaks that were wildly productive. Aho had 16 points in that span and Svechnikov 14. Both were pointless on Saturday night.
“It’s nice to know that competition is there and give you another thing to step up for,†Binnington said.
Against Aho and Svechnikov, the Blues used two defensive pairs to try to neutralize them: Leddy and Colton Parayko, and Torey Krug and Matthew Kessel.
In the 6:04 of ice time at five on five that Aho, Svechnikov, Leddy and Parayko were on the ice, the Hurricanes did not have a single shot on goal, according to Natural Stat Trick.
“Just taking time and space away from them,†Leddy said. “I think that’s the only thing you can do. They’re obviously a very skilled line, they make a lot of plays. Obviously, if you look at all of them, they can shoot the puck really well. Just taking away time and space, and getting on them quick.â€
The Blues also recently ended Nathan MacKinnon’s 19-game point streak.
Binnington and the Blues will begin a four-game homestand on Tuesday night when they face the Panthers.
“He’s playing with confidence,†Bannister said of Binnington. “I think the group, as a whole, is starting to build some confidence and starting to believe in themselves in that room. With that, we’re seeing wins. We’re seeing results. We’re seeing that we’re in games more often than not.â€