ST. LOUIS - The role of starting goaltender has been up for debate amongst Blues fans and speculators after stellar performances from backup goalie Ville Husso and less-than-desirable outings from Jordan Binnington.
However, Binnington’s past two games seem to show the goalie is on an upswing.
In his last two starts, Jordan Binnington faced 56 shots and stopped 55 - one of those games including a Sunday matinee shutout against rival Chicago. The Blues now sit at 2nd place in the Western Conference.
KMOX host Chris Rongey spoke with Bally Sports Midwest Rinkside Reporter Andy Strickland about Binnington’s success in Monday night’s edition of Sports Open Line:
“It’s a real positive sign. The needle is moving in the right direction. Now it's about his next start, and the next start after that,” Strickland said of #50. “His confidence will continue to build. The confidence the coaching staff has in him and the organization has in him will only continue to grow.”
You can hear the full conversation between Rongey and Strickland in the audio at the top of this page.
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Currently, Husso ranks 2nd overall in both Goals Against Average (2.03) and Save Percentage (.935), following behind the New York Rangers' Igor Shesterkin.
Strickland acknowledges Binnington's recent success, but doesn't think it's quite time to commit to him one hundred percent just yet:
“As well as Binnington has played in his last couple of starts, the Blues are in this position that they’re in right now because of Ville Husso. We’ll see both goaltenders this weekend, but it’s not time to turn the keys back over to #50 just yet.”
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Strickland also believes that the personalities of the goaltenders will not turn this situation into a conflict, and will even create some friendly competition.
"The fire that he has internally is significant," Strickland says of Bininngton. "This guy's gonna compete and he's gonna battle like hell to get that #1 job back. He's not gonna be content being #2."
The Blues travel to the Big Apple to face the Rangers Wednesday night at 6:30pm before crossing the East River to play the Islanders Saturday morning at 11:30am.