NHL: 4 Nations Face Off-Championship Game (image credit: IMAGN)
Brad Marchand and Team Canada slayed the dragon on Thursday, beating Team USA 3-2 in overtime to win the 4 Nations Face-Off. Connor McDavid was the hero, taking a great pass from Mitch Marner and picking the top corner while all alone in the slot.
McDavid was named player of the game, although fans know that without Jordan Binnington, Canada wouldn’t have had the opportunity to win the game.
Marchand was asked about Binnington’s performance in his postgame media availability. Tom Carroll shared on X (formerly Twitter) the praise he gave his goaltender.
https://x.com/i/status/1892825422359925142
“For him to come up that many times in overtime, it speaks a tremendous amount to his characater, and how prepared he was for this moment. And he took advantage of it,” Marchand said. “He is the sole reason we won this game tonight. And then obviously, you know, you leave the best player in the world open in the slot, he’s gonna make you pay. But that doesn’t happen without Binner (Binnington).”
Since winning the Stanley Cup as a rookie in 2018-19, Binnington has gone through many struggles and inconsistent play. He showed up for Canada at the 4 Nations tournament and reminded everyone that he’s a big-game goalie.
In the fourth season of a six-year $36,000,000 contract (per Spotrac) with the Blues, Binnington undoubtedly raised his stock after his performance. With St. Louis going through a retool, fans may be wondering if general managers around the league might be interested in attempting to acquire him via trade.
Brad Marchand is right, Jordan Binnington was Team Canada’s MVP
Brad Marchand said it perfectly that Jordan Binnington was the sole reason Team Canada beat Team USA on Thursday.
Binnington made 31 saves on 33 shots, finishing with a 3-1-0 record for the tournament with a 2.37 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage.
He made several spectacular saves on Auston Matthews and Brady Tkachuk as Canada was reeling to begin overtime.
he Americans could have nightmares for a long time thinking about how close they came to beating their rivals in the championship game. Brady Tkachuk and Dylan Larkin did their best to agitate Binnington all night, jawing at him throughout the game. However, he was unphased and got the last laugh.
Marchand, Connor McDavid and the rest of Team Canada have Binnington to thank for helping them win the 4 Nations Face-Off.
