There were a lot of naysayers when Team Canada head coach Jon Cooper picked Jordan Binnington as his starting goaltender for the 4 Nations Face-Off.
A lot of people pointed out how his numbers are not very good, how he allows a lot of soft goals, and that his temperament might not be right for this kind of competition. These were certainly all valid points.
With that said, Binnington went out and proved everyone wrong in Thursday night’s 4 Nations Face-Off championship game. Binnington was Team Canada’s best player as he helped his team beat Team USA in overtime by a score of 3-2 at TD Garden in Boston on a goal by Connor McDavid.
Binnington stopped 31 of 33 shots, including four or five brilliant ones in overtime. Just like he did when he helped the St. Louis Blues beat the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final at the TD Garden in 2019, Binnington stood tall and showed the hockey world why he can be one of the game’s best goaltenders.
For starters, he made several big saves in this game. That was especially in the case both early in the third period and in overtime when Team USA was pressing to get that elusive third goal that would give them the lead or the win.
In overtime, Binnington robbed both Auston Matthews and Brady Tkachuk. He first stopped Matthews in the slot with a great blocker save three minutes into overtime and then made an unbelievable glove save on Tkachuk close to two minutes later.
In the third period, Binnington stopped all eight shots he faced. His biggest stop in that period might have been his semi-breakaway save on Jake Guentzel.
Secondly, Binnington showed that he is a big-game goaltender. Via The Athletic, here is what Binnington has done in winner-take-all games:
- Stopped 29 of 30 shots in a Game 7 win over the Dallas Stars in the second round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs
- Stopped 32 of 33 shots in a Game 7 win over the Bruins in the Stanley Cup Final
- Stopped 31 of 33 shots in the Championship Game of the 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off
Lastly, Binnington showed how unflappable he is. He could have easily gotten down on himself a few times in this tournament, but because of his confidence in himself, he let nothing bother him.
When Team USA went up 2-1 on a goal by Jake Sanderson, it would have been easy for Binnington to let the crowd bother him and get on him. That never ended up being the case because, after that goal, he shut the door and led his team to a victory.
There are a lot of people who owe Binnington an apology because without his terrific performance in the deciding game, it would have been Team USA winning the 4 Nations Face-Off instead of Team Canada.
ITR 26: 2 Nations Fighting – Inside The Rink
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