Two months after going head-to-head in the most watched hockey game of the year, Connor Hellebuyck and Jordan Binnington will be back in opposite nets when the Winnipeg Jets host the St. Louis Blues in Game 1 of their first-round Western Conference series on Saturday evening.
Binnington helped Canada to a 3-2 overtime win against Hellebuyck and the United States in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game on Feb. 20.
Hellebuyck has enjoyed a much better NHL season than Binnington, resetting his franchise record with 47 victories. That has been bettered only twice in league history: Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils in 2006-07 and Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals in 2015-16, both with 48.
The reigning Vezina Trophy winner also owned the best goals-against average in the NHL (2.00), the most shutouts (eight) and finished second in save percentage (.925) behind Anthony Stolarz of the Toronto Maple Leafs (.926).
“I kind of have everything dialed in,” Hellebuyck said after practice on Thursday. “I’ve got the right people around me to make myself feel good every day. I’ve got a good rhythm. I feel rested, I feel ready for what’s next.”
Binnington went 28-22-5 during the regular seasons with a 2.69 GAA and .900 save percentage, both near his career averages of 2.78 and .907.
What sets Binnington’s resume apart from that of Hellebuyck is that the former won a Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019, beating the Jets in the first round that year.
“Binnington has been in this league, he’s won a Stanley Cup,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said. “The 4 Nations, his spectacular play there. At the end of the day, they’ve been on a run and he’s been a big part of it. He’s experienced at this time of the year.”
Hellebuyck is 17-6-2 in his career against St. Louis with a 2.03 GAA and .928 save percentage.
Binnington is 3-7-1 in regular-season games against the Jets with a 3.09 GAA and .903 save percentage.
The Blues also will rely on an experienced defensive unit that features three defensemen with more than 1,000 NHL games and another that’s just 20 games away from that milestone.
“Just look at how many games our D-corps has played in the league,” Blues center Zack Bolduc said. “It’s incredible. We’ve got so much confidence in them. We’re just happy to have them, and we know all the experience they have. We know they’re there to repair the mistakes that we’re doing in front of them. It’s good to have them behind us.”
Colton Parayko is the only defenseman for the Blues who was part of the 2019 Stanley Cup championship team, but forwards Jordan Kyrou, Brayden Schenn, Oskar Sundqvist and Robert Thomas also were on that team.
“We like to think of it as an advantage,” Blues defenseman Cam Fowler said. “We have guys in here that have a lot of experience, and I think that’s valuable come playoff time, and we have guys that have won the Stanley Cup, so they’ve gotten to the highest of highs that you can in this game.
“You combine that with a lot of youthful energy and guys that are experiencing it for the first time, I think it’s a great mix.”
