Defending champions fail to medal after back-to-back losses over weekend; Binnington finishes tournament with average numbers; Parayko leads Canadians in ice time again
Jordan Binnington wanted to use the 2024 IIHF World Championship as a springboard for bigger, more prestigious international tournaments in the not-too-distant future.
The record was fine, but the numbers were so-so, and things culminated for the St. Louis Blues goalie and team Canada in a disappointing finish following a 4-2 loss against Sweden in the bronze medal game at Prague Arena in Prague Czechia on Sunday.
After a 3-2 shootout loss on Saturday in upset fashion against Switzerland that prevented Canada from defending its title, the Canadians failed to medal for the first time since 2018 and just the second time the past nine tournaments.
Binnington made 29 saves against the Swedes, who medaled for the first time since winning gold in 2018, and he finished the tournament 6-2, which isn't bad, but an average 2.81 goals-against average and below-average .885 save percentage may not be looked on too kindly when choices are made for the Canadian Winter Olympic team in 2026 in Turin, Italy and also the 2024 4 Nations Face-off.
Blues defenseman Colton Parayko had two shots on goal and was a minus-1 in a game-leading 23:16 ice time. He finished the tournament with four assists and was a plus-7.
Blues goalie Joel Hofer, who was part of the gold medal-winning squad last year, was the winning goalie in a 4-2 win against Great Britain but was relegated to a backup role throughout the tournament.
For Team USA, which was eliminated by eventual champion and host Czechia 1-0 in the quarterfinals, Blues center Kevin Hayes was the second-best face-off artist in the tournament, winning 66.7 percent of his draws, which was only bested by Canada's John Tavares (Toronto Maple Leafs), who was 69.9 percent.
Hayes had one assist and was a minus-1 in eight games.
Blues defenseman Matthew Kessel had an assist and was a plus-3 but was limited to just two games in his first international assignment for USA.
St. Louisan Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa Senators) tied for second in points (13) with Switzerland's Kevin Fiala (Los Angeles Kings), each having seven goals and six assists, in eight games.
