Jordan Binnington's teammates were gushing over his play Wednesday night, any night for that matter, but the St. Louis Blues goalie would have none of it.
Binnington, who sparkled -- again -- with a 40-save performance Wednesday in a 3-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings, keeping the Blues (34-29-3) in the hunt in the Western Conference wild card, is all about the team concept.
Win as a team, lose as a team, and even though he was the backbone to the Blues' second straight win, he wanted no part of soaking in any of the adulation.
"I think we've done a good job this year as a group, playing the right way and playing tight in our own zone," Binnington said. 'I think it's been a lot better, and it's fun to play back there and I'm enjoying it. It's a big win for us, coming home like that. We've got more work to do. That's the focus."
"We" and "us." There was nothing about "me" and "I" in there.
But in a season where the Blues, six points out of the wild card heading into action Thursday, are trying to stay in the hunt with 16 games remaining, the guy that led them from the basement to the pinnacle in 2019 is trying to channel his inner rookie season when he was 24-5-1 with a 1.89 goals-against average and .927 save percentage in the regular season and 16-10, 2.46 GAA and .914 save percentage in becoming the only rookie in NHL history to win 16 games in the postseason; he's 12-7-2 with a .235 GAA and .928 save percentage and two shutouts since Jan. 1.
"He's been amazing all year," Blues center Kevin Hayes said. "I've said this a bunch this year, he's the most surprising (to Hayes) as a new guy to this team, the most surprising guy in my mind how hard he works, how good he is, how good he is in practice and just how he goes about his every day life."
Joel Hofer, 11-11-0 in his rookie season with a 2.79 GAA and .915 save percentage after getting a taste the past two seasons, is doing his job pulling his weight as well. It's no secret that Blues goaltending has done as much, if not more, to keep the Blues relevant down the stretch.
"Since I've come here, the goaltending, whether it's been 'Binner' or Joel, have been outstanding for us," Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said. "They give us an opportunity to win, they keep games tight. The feeling on the bench is there's a lot of confidence in our goalies. If we do make mistakes, they're there to clean up some of the mess. We just have to minimize what happens after the first mistake."
Last season on this date, March 14, 2023, the Blues weren't mathematically out of the race yet but it was a mere formality playing out the string, 16 points out of the playoff chase and basically playing out the string.
Even though the odds are still stacked against them, at least these games mean something, and the goalies are giving them a reason to stay in it.
"Yeah, it's a lot more enjoyable," Binnington said. "We've put ourselves in a position here to create a new story and find a way in. We believe in this locker room that if you get there anything can happen. So, that's what we're working towards.
"... It seems like the guys are having more fun and have each other's backs out there, finding ways to create offense off the rush. I think that makes it more enjoyable as a player, and the energy builds from there."
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