{"id":462581,"date":"2025-02-19T08:00:55","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T13:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=462581"},"modified":"2025-02-18T20:43:07","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T01:43:07","slug":"jordan-binnington-is-the-answer-to-team-canadas-goalie-question","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/02\/19\/jordan-binnington-is-the-answer-to-team-canadas-goalie-question\/","title":{"rendered":"Jordan Binnington is the Answer to Team Canada’s Goalie Question"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Thursday, the United States and Canada will meet to determine the champion of the 4 Nations Face-Off. Each team’s lineup will look different. The United States will be without defenceman Charlie McAvoy<\/a>, who will miss the game due to an <\/span>upper-body injury<\/span><\/a>. Defenceman Cale Makar<\/a> missed two games due to illness, but Canada’s coach, Jon Cooper, expects <\/span>him to play on Thursday<\/span><\/a>. However, the most significant lineup question Canada is facing has nothing to do with injury or illness. It is the question of who should start in goal. Should Jordan Binnington<\/a> get the nod again, or is it time for Adin Hill<\/a>? The answer to Canada’s question is to stick with the <\/span>2019 Stanley Cup Champion<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jordan Binnington is the Answer\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

The Case Against #50<\/span><\/h3>\n

There is a <\/span>case to be made to go with Hill<\/span><\/a>. Binnington has not had a strong 2024-25 season. He currently has a career-low .897 save percentage. In December, the <\/span>St. Louis Blues<\/span><\/a> had a legitimate case to name Joel Hofer<\/a> as the <\/span>temporary starter<\/span><\/a> over Binnington.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the tournament, Binnington has given up some soft goals. The most notable was a goal by Jake Guentzel<\/a> on <\/span>Saturday<\/span><\/a> that squeezed through Binning’s legs. On <\/span>Monday’s game<\/span><\/a>, Binnington allowed three quick third-period goals to Finland, making the game much closer than it had been. For fans of Team Canada, Monday afternoon was the last straw.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Case For #50<\/span><\/h3>\n

Binnington has not had a strong season and has given up some soft goals in the tournament. Furthermore, Hill is having a strong season, going 20-10-4 for the <\/span>Vegas Golden Knights<\/span><\/a>, a team with Stanley Cup aspirations. Like Binnington, Hill has a <\/span>Stanley Cup on his resume<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, what Binnington brings to the table makes him the clear goalie for Canada.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Binnington in Elimination Games<\/span><\/h4>\n

Thursday’s game is a winner-take-all game. In other words, it is an elimination game. Since his debut in 2019, Binnington has excelled in games where his team faces elimination. In five games where his team had to win, Binnington has gone 3-2. This includes two Game 7 victories. The first was a double overtime victory against the <\/span>Dallas Stars<\/span><\/a>, where Binnington made 29 saves. The second was the Stanley Cup-clinching win over the <\/span>Boston Bruins<\/span><\/a>, where Binnington stopped 38 of 39 shots. Furthermore, Binnington made spectacular saves in the first period when the Bruins heavily outplayed the Blues. Had Binnington not stood his ground, the\u00a0<\/span>Blue Note\u00a0<\/span><\/em>would likely still be without a Stanley Cup.<\/span><\/p>\n

In games where the Blues have had an opportunity to eliminate their opponent, Binnington has a 5-1 record. Furthermore, Binnington gave up no more than two goals in each of those wins.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let’s compare this to how Hill has done in similar games. In games where Hill can eliminate an opponent, he is 3-3-1. In games where the Golden Knights have faced elimination, Hill is 1-1. The differences are apparent. Hill is a capable goalie, but Binnington’s statistics when it matters most speak for itself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Do Not Forget Binnington is on a Retooling Team<\/span><\/h4>\n

Binnington’s numbers in the last few seasons have not been close to his All-Star season in 2020 or his rookie season in 2019. However, it is important to remember that the Blues are retooling the team. The team in front of Binnington is not as good as it has been. At times, Binnington has had to carry the Blues. Conversely, there have been times when the Blues defence has left Binnington out to dry.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unlike Hill, Binnington is not a contending team. However, that does not mean Binnington is not the answer for Canada.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the End of the Day<\/span><\/h3>\n

Come Thursday, Jon Cooper will make the decision he feels gives his team the best chance to win. Team Canada will still be in good shape if he turns to Hill. However, Cooper should trust what history tells us. With their backs against the wall and an opportunity to win the championship, Binnington is the answer for Team Canada.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Main Photo: Bob DeChiara- Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Thursday, the United States and Canada will meet to determine the champion of the 4 Nations Face-Off. Each team’s lineup will look different. The United States will be without defenceman Charlie McAvoy, who will miss the game due to an upper-body injury. Defenceman Cale Makar missed two games due to illness, but Canada’s coach, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3464,"featured_media":462593,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8091,4547,4548],"tags":[3759,591],"class_list":["post-462581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-4-nations-face-off","category-hockey","category-nhl","tag-jordan-binnington","tag-team-canada"],"modified_by":"Andrew Willis","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3464"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=462581"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462581\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":462600,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462581\/revisions\/462600"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/462593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=462581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=462581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=462581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}