Despite entering the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament with serious question marks in goal, Team Canada was able to get a heroic performance from Jordan Binnington in Thursday’s championship game in Boston at TD Garden.
Binnington turned back the clock and delivered a clutch outing reminiscent of his Game 7 Stanley Cup-winning victory for the St. Louis Blues over the Boston Bruins, ironically also at TD Garden.
In the spirit of competition, Binnington felt that the height of the moment helped to elevate Team Canada’s performance, via The New York Times.
“As an athlete, as a competitor, there’s always going to be that doubt, and you’ve got to use that as motivation and find a way and believe in yourself to get the job done,” Binnington said. “Just being around these guys the last two weeks, I feel like it’s elevated everyone’s game. Just how proud we are to be Canadian hockey players and just finding a way to win with everything going on. Just stay with it, is all I’ll say.”
Meanwhile, Binnington’s teammates had nothing but an outpouring of praise for how he played in helping them secure the win.
“I don’t think I have enough words, to be honest with you,” Sidney Crosby said. “He was incredible. So much poise.”
“The moment doesn’t get to him,” Connor McDavid added. “He made probably three or four all-world saves early in overtime to allow us to score the goal. So, all credit to him. Hopefully some of those haters will back off him, because honestly, he played great.”
Binnington now heads back to the Blues and will attempt to help them get back into the thick of the playoff race in the Western Conference; they’re in sixth place in the Central Division.
The 4 Nations Face-Off win was the latest accomplishment for Blues goalie Jordan Binnington
Binnington once again emerged victorious in a Game 7-style situation. Not only did he help to backstop the Blues to the 2019 Stanley Cup in Game 7 against the Bruins, but he also earned a Game 7 victory earlier that postseason run in the second round against the Dallas Stars.
This season with the Blues, Binnington has racked up a fairly pedestrian record of 15-19-4 with a 2.89 goals-against average and a .896 save percentage.
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