Blues goalie reaffirms not being happy with getting pulled from 4-1 loss to Ducks on Monday, has moved on from incident and says he respects coach making decisions
ST. LOUIS – Jordan Binnington and Jim Montgomery are on good terms, the goalie confirmed his coach’s words on Monday.
The St. Louis Blues goalie, who was pulled from a 4-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday after allowing two goals on five shots, addressed the clip showing him having choice words for Montgomery upon removal:
“You prepare for a game,” Binnington said. “You’re going in thinking you’re playing 60 minutes, you plan on playing 60 minutes. As an athlete and a competitor, that’s what you want to do. I felt good. It’s unfortunate. They got two goals and that’s hockey. The game always finds a way to keep you humble. It’s all part of it. It’s just about whether we won or lost yesterday, I’m coming in, I’m doing the same thing today.
“It’s just my instinct to … I wasn’t happy and that’s who I am as a person. I’m sure and in the big picture, I think people would respect that and I respect the fire and people would want to play. At the same time, he’s the coach and he makes the decisions and I totally respect that too.”
Montgomery was asked about the exchange and said after the game, “You know, I love Jordan Binnington. He's a competitor, he raises his games in the big moments all the time. I love him. He walked off the ice, he said, 'I love you.' I said, 'I love you too.' We're both competitors by nature, and at the end of the period, he waited for me, we apologized, we moved on. It's over and done with.”
Binnington, who was 2-0-2 his previous four starts, allowed a Mason McTavish goal at 6:33 on a shot off the lefthand boards that may have caromed off defenseman Cam Fowler’s stick on the short side to make it 1-0, then was beat by Pavel Mintyukov at 10:24 from the outside of the right face-off circle that Justin Faulk was defending and gave the Ducks the lead for good at 2-1. Montgomery made the change for Joel Hofer and Binnington was none too happy about it; he didn’t return to the bench until the start of the second period.
He has since moved on.
“Honestly, I’m not even thinking about it. It is what it is,” Binnington said after an optional practice at Enterprise Center on Monday. “My instinct in the moment is I wasn’t happy and I got 50 minutes left of energy, excitement to play. So I let it out a little bit on my way off the ice.
“I’m not really worried about it anymore to be honest. You’ve got to live in the moment and you know that about me. I say that all the time to you. That’s where I’m at.”
As for the words said afterwards, “We’re good. It’s between us,” Binnington said. “We’re both competitors. It’s just what happens. Instincts come out. I think we’re all at our best when we’re trusting our instincts. He’s a great coach. It is what it is and we’re just moving forward. It’s totally fine and we’re both men and can handle it.”
As any goalie where the residue may linger with everyone else outside the locker room,
“That’s the game,” Binnington said. “Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes you feel good and you get scored on, sometimes you don’t feel good and you don’t get scored on. It’s a relentless mindset of coming to work every day with intention and passion and love for the team and this group and try to build something special every day. Or just trying to being in it. That’s the mindset from me.”
Prior to getting yanked Monday, Binnington was 2-0-2 with a 2.44 goals-against average and .914 save percentage.
“I’m just focusing on what I can control and that’s my game and that’s working with my coaches and teammates,” Binnington said. “Honesty I feel good, I feel excited. I have good energy. I’m just grateful for this opportunity and for a great organization and city. It’s kind of the same old thing here. I think just reminding myself of it’s just the way the game goes sometimes and you’ve got to keep putting one foot in front of the other.”
The Blues (9-11-7) next play Thursday against the Boston Bruins, and Binnington would love to get the cage back.
“I understand the process and how things go at this point,” he said. “I think the focus is when I am back in there, it’s doing my best and doing what I can to give the team a chance to win.”
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