After a blah performance in a 4-1 loss at Anaheim, the Blues went to Winnipeg and found a way to win (3-2) in a game settled by a shootout. No, not the O.K. Corral kind of shootout. The Blues spent most of Tuesday evening in a bewildered state, with the Jets flying around, buzzing the St. Louis goal, and controlling the ice. And yet … the Blues departed Manitoba and flew home with a 2-1-1 record on their four-game road trip.
How did they win in Winnipeg? I think you know the answer.
Let’s Roll Four Lines, anyway.
FIRST LINE
Have you ever heard of “The Flying Bandit?” Gather around, kids and I’ll tell you a quick story. His name was Ken Leishman, a pilot turned thief known for his high-risk aerial escapes in the 1960s and ‘70s. Leishman was the mastermind behind Canada’s largest gold robbery, pulling off a daring heist at the Winnipeg airport in 1966.
Leishman and four accomplices made off with $400,000 worth of gold bullion. How did they do it? After Leishman spent weeks studying the arrival times of flights transporting gold to Winnipeg, his gang dressed as freight handlers, walked onto the tarmac, stole a truck packed with 12 crates of gold bars, and drove off. Leishman’s preferred means of escape was using an airplane for a quick and unusual getaway during his series of non-violent robberies that made him famous. In Canada they even made a movie about this guy.
I tell you this curiously charming story for a reason.
Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington pulled off the second-greatest heist in Winnipeg history on Tuesday evening at Canada Life Centre.
This bandit goaltender also flew away –on the Blues’ chartered flight that departed Winnipeg. Binnington won all three games at Winnipeg in the Blues’ first-round playoff victory over the Jets in 2019. He did it again Tuesday, turning Winnipeg into Binnipeg.
SECOND LINE
The victory gave the Blues an 8-2-1 record on the campaign. We do not have to parse this latest win; it was as simple as Binnington pickpocketing the Jets for two points.
The Binner stopped 39 of 41 shots — a .951 save rate — including 13 of 14 from high-danger range. One goal against Binngington wasn’t his fault; it clanked the skate of teammate Marco Scandella and went in.
And then No. 50 repelled all four of Winnipeg’s shootout attempts to finalize his brazen act of larceny.
Tribute quotes:
“I’m impressed. He’s so good,” said the new Blue, winger Pavel Buchnevich. “Makes again tons of saves. I don’t know how many shots, like 45, or whatever. He still make us better. If not for him, maybe the score end up like way worse.”
— Jordan Kyrou: “Definitely would have lost the game, that’s for sure. Binner’s making unbelievable saves all game and then same thing in overtime, especially shootout. He really won that for us.”
— Coach Craig Berube: “The second and the third period, he made some big saves, I’ll tell you that. There were a couple of those for sure. In the second and third, he came up big for us. He won us a game tonight.”
— Kyrou: “Binner makes those unbelievable saves and you just look at a teammate like, ‘Wow, what a save! Way to keep us in the game!,’ ”
THIRD LINE
This should have been a Winnipeg win — by perhaps three or four goals. At five-on-five the Blues had only 37.6 percent of shots directed at the net, 34.5% of the shots on goal, 38% of the scoring chances, and 24% of the shots from high-danger areas.
This metric tells us all we need to know: based on the way the Blues were dominated in this one, Winnipeg should have scored 76 percent of the goals. But Binnington the Bandit would not crack.
This is applicable to the Blues’ early-season form. The reality is, they’ve frequently been outplayed at five on five. The Blues rank 25th in the league with an expected goals percentage of only 46.5% at five on five. But they’ve actually scored 56 percent of the goals at five on five. The point: strong goaltending has given the Blues an advantage — even when they’re at a possession and game-control disadvantage at five on five.
FOURTH LINE
In a discussion of the NHL’s best goaltenders, where would Binnington fit on the unofficial list? I’ll defer to Ken Dryden or some other actual expert, but I can offer a few statistical nuggets.
Among 24 NHL goaltenders that have played at least 5,000 minutes at five-on-five since the start of the 2018-2019 season, here’s where Binnington stands:
➺ 4th in save percentage, .927. But if we reduce the minimum to 4,000 minutes played, that save percentage would rank 2nd over the three-plus seasons.
➺ 5th in goals saved above average, 23.7.
➺ 2nd with a .851 high-danger save percentage.
➺ 6th in wins, with 78. But that’s a little misleading; Binnington didn’t make his NHL debut until January of 2019. He’s made 133 regular-season starts over that time; other goaltenders have had more opportunities to win games.
➺ 9th in quality-start percentage, .569
➺ He’s tied for the fewest “Really Bad Starts” as defined by Hockey Reference. Only 12 of his 133 starts have been scored as really bad. And Binnington has fewer clunkers than just about every goaltender in the league since he arrived from the minors to save the Blues’ 2018-2019 season.
➺ Of course, the 16 postseason wins in 2019 + Game 7 in Boston + the first Stanley Cup championship in Blues history. Subsequent playoff appearances didn’t go so well, but Binnington’s brilliant and dramatic 2019 performance will always be remembered and cherished.
BLUE NOTES
1) Despite a serious injury to VIP Blue Brayden Schenn, a spate of Covid-19 absences that removed the likes of Ryan O’Reilly Torey Krug and Brandon Saad from the lineup, and Buchnevich sitting out for a two-game suspension, the 8-2-1 Blues have the NHL’s fourth-best points percentage (.773.) The only teams above them so far are Carolina, Edmonton and Florida.
2) Binnington’s heroics in Winnipeg improved the Blues to 5-1-1 on the road this season. They have the NHL’s third-best points percentage (.786) on the road.
3) Buchnevich had a goal and an assist at Winnipeg. “Buchy” is a terrific addition, and GM Doug Armstrong pulled off a great trade with the NY Rangers to get him. (But Sammy Blais is doing fine for the Rangers.) Among regular Blues forwards, Buchnevich has the top Corsi For percentage (52.6) at five on five. And with Buchnevich on the ice the Blues have outscored opponents 5-1 at five on five, and 8-2 overall.
4) Jordan Kyrou also had a goal and an assist, but the goal was especially notable. Until last night, Kyrou had gone eight games without a goal since banking two at Arizona in the second game of the season. The mini goal-scoring drought aside, Kyrou brings an impressive skill set to the ice. This season (all situations) the Blues have controlled 55% of the shots on goal and outscored the other side 12-3 with Kyrou on the ice.
5) Fun with numbers: despite being outshot 8-1 at even strength when using the defensive pairing of Justin Faulk and Jake Walman vs. Winnipeg, the Blues outscored the Jets 1-0 with the duo in action.
Thanks for reading …
–Bernie
Bernie invites you to listen to his opinionated sports-talk show on 590-AM The Fan, KFNS. It airs Monday through Thursday from 3-6 p.m. and Friday from 4-6 p.m. You can listen by streaming online or by downloading the “Bernie Show” podcast at 590thefan.com — the 590 app works great and is available in your preferred app store.
Follow Bernie on Twitter @miklasz
* All stats used here are sourced from Hockey Reference and Natural Stat Trick unless otherwise noted.
