Jordan Binnington named second star of the week by NHL

Jordan Binnington is in for a test tonight, as he’ll more than likely be starting against the Washington Capitals. As is an annual tradition, the Blues have a goalie controversy and the backup has commandeered the starting position through probably at least late February. Further cementing Binningtonmania in St. Louis, Binnasty has been selected the second NHL star for the week ending on January 13th. From the league’s press release:

Binnington stopped 74 of the 76 shots he faced, compiling a 3-0-0 record with a 0.67 goals-against average, .974 save percentage and one shutout to guide the Blues (19-20-4, 42 points) to wins in three of their four games. Binnington made his first NHL start Jan. 7, earning a shutout with 25 saves in a 3-0 triumph over the Philadelphia Flyers. He became the 35th goaltender in League history to post a shutout in his first NHL start and the second to achieve the feat with St. Louis (also Rich Parent: Jan. 26, 1999 at SJS). Binnington then yielded only one goal in each of his next two outings, recording 28 stops in a 4-1 victory against the Montreal Canadiens Jan. 10 and 21 saves in a 3-1 win over the Dallas Stars Jan. 12. The 25-year-old Richmond Hill, Ont., native – who made his League debut Jan. 14, 2016 – has appeared in six total NHL games, totaling a 3-0-0 record, 1.61 goals-against average and .933 save percentage.

It’s a very small sample size for anyone, let alone a rookie, but a 0.67 GAA and a .974 save percentage is very, very good. Here’s hoping the play continues and we see Binnington get these honors again this season. Will it be enough to save the Blues’ year? Who knows, but a stretch of solid goaltending will make watching these games significantly more pleasant.