Binnington hoping for another chance in Game 5 for Blues against Wild
Stanley Cup-winning goalie impressed in playoff start after beginning series as backup
The St. Louis Blues goalie enjoyed standing on the ice at Enterprise Center, trying to conduct a post-game interview with television analyst Darren Pang while the sold-out crowd screamed, clapped and chanted his name.
"It was special for sure," Binnington said. "At the time, just stay focused and work hard to build that resiliency and just getting that moment. It's good to pause for a moment and take that all in."
The moment played out after a 28-save effort in a 5-2 victory against the Minnesota Wild in Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round on Sunday that evened the best-of-7 series.
It was also special because all of it had been taken away from him.
Binnington was jonesing to feel the adulation of the home crowd again after experiencing it over and over as the central figure in the Blues' stunning run to the 2019 Stanley Cup championship.
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Almost every home game during that run, the crowd was chanting his name, providing the positivity that made all those long minor-league bus rides a distant memory.
"That's the show, as they say," Binnington said Sunday about resuming his place in the big-game spotlight. "It was a lot of fun being out there and competing.
"The crowd -- after we scored, big saves, big kills, big plays -- they know the game here. It's always fun to play in front of this crowd."
Binnington was introduced to the euphoria possible in St. Louis in 2019 as a 25-year-old who had paid his dues -- more than five seasons in the minors -- before authoring a Cinderella Story after stealing the No. 1 job from Jake Allen.
Now, he had been riding the other side of the fairy tale, the established starter that had lost his mojo sitting on the bench while Vile Husso ran with his opportunity.
The doubts, at time, were omnipresent.
Binnington did not have a great season, going 18-14-4, including a 3.13 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage, each the worst of his four-year NHL career.
He had not won a playoff game since he raised the Stanley Cup after a Game 7 victory against the Bruins at TD Garden, dropping nine straight postseason decisions and playing to a 4.19 GAA and .875 save percentage.
Yet, Binnington persevered.
He fought to get better, winning five straight games before a 5-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche in his final start of the regular season. He had no choice but believe better days were ahead.
"These are why we play; the fun moments," Binnington said. "There's adversity, but it's just backing yourself up, picking yourself up and trying to get back at it again."
Binnington could be back at it again as soon as Game 5, which is at Xcel Energy Center in Minnesota on Tuesday (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN360, TVAS2, BSN, BSWIX, BSMW).
St. Louis coach Craig Berube has yet to name a starter, but it is a safe bet that Binnington is the frontrunner after his performance Sunday, as well as his big-game pedigree.
"He's a special player that helped us win here," Berube said. "Like I said, down the stretch, him playing well and winning games, that creates confidence.
"[In 2019], he had never played a playoff game and he went in there and did a good job. That's something that he knows he did and he can do it again."
Before Sunday, Binnington last played on Apr. 26, allowing four goals on 33 shots to the Avalanche. Six days later, Ville Husso started Game 1 and made 37 saves in a 4-0 shutout. Husso has allowed 11 combined goals in losses in Games 2 and 3 since.
Binnington wondered what his future in these playoffs held, but supported Husso, being the team-first player that Berube praised often during Binnington's rough patches.
"However it played out, you have to be ready for whatever is to come," Binnington said "I was just, you know, putting in the work and building that resiliency for if, and when, that time came."
The time, it appears, is now once again for Binnington.
