Binnington wins Save Streak at All-Star Skills

ST. LOUIS -- Jordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues kept the best for last in the Bud Light NHL Save Streak at the 2020 NHL All-Star Skills presented by New Amsterdam Vodka before his hometown fans at Enterprise Center on Friday.

Binnington, taking part in his first NHL All-Star Weekend, did not allow a goal to any of the final 10 shooters from the Pacific Division that he faced, including Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers, who hit the post to give Binnington the win.
"Yeah, that was special," said Binnington, who was the last of the eight goalies to take part in the competition. "It was a lot of fun. Getting that last save in, well hitting the post, I'll take that from Leon.
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"It was pretty special just doing it in front of the home crowd and just hearing their energy and feeling their energy. Overall, this is a fantastic evening and you know, everyone's had a good time and we're having a great time in the locker room."
Binnington made one more consecutive save than Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who faced shooters from the Metropolitan Division.
"Watching [Vasilevskiy] there, I was kind of like, that's a tough one to follow up," Binnington said. "You know, I was just trying to get focused. I got a couple good bounces for sure. You need that sometimes; it's not always pretty."

Binnington allowed a goal to Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk, the third of the Pacific shooters, then stopped 10 straight, including one from Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who has 27 regular-season goals.
Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who made four consecutive saves, said facing Draisaitl and McDavid was an extra onerous task for the Central Division goalies.
"Those Edmonton guys are tough," said Hellebuyck, who allowed a goal to McDavid to end his save streak. "Then Binnington's got the crowd here and you can hear them getting rowdy and I bet that was a great feeling for him."
Binnington said he was happy he could set the tone for St. Louis by winning the second event, adding another accomplishment to a calendar year that saw him go from being out of the NHL, to the starter in St. Louis last January, to a Stanley Cup winner and, now, to a star of the 2020 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend.
"There's some money on the line and something to win. something else to put on the list of accomplishments," he said. "For me, it's important. I'm very motivation-driven and about setting goals. I wouldn't say this was a goal, but I definitely wanted to win.
"As we got going and the crowd was getting into it and it was getting loud, it was definitely special. It was a lot of fun and I'm happy to got to be a part of it."
Additionally, Binnington was able to send a message to pop star Justin Bieber
San Jose Sharks forward Tomas Hertl put on a Bieber mask right before starting his attempt against Binnington and then failed to score on a weak backhander.
"It took me a second to take in what was going on; it got the blood boiling a little bit," Binnington said, smiling. "I know that competition [with Bieber] is coming up so it is good practice for me.
"You know, I expected more out of Biebs today so it's back to the drawing board probably in preparing and we'll see what he has."
Binnington issued a shootout challenge to Bieber, a recreational hockey player, on social media on Jan. 1 after Bieber posted a series of Instagram posts showing off some of his hockey moves in a rec game, including one where the singer cut to the net and scored on a nice backhand.
"10 breakaways me vs. you," Binnington posted to Bieber's Instagram account. "You score on me I'll dye my hair platinum blonde @justinbieber."
Vasilevskiy also finished second last year in San Jose when he was passed by the final goalie, Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers.
Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen, another first-time All-Star, finished third with seven straight saves against the Metropolitan Division shooters.
Results
Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues -- 10-save streak
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning -- nine-save
Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs -- seven-save
Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals -- five-save
Jacob Markstrom, Vancouver Canucks -- five-save
Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets -- four-save
Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh Penguins -- four-save
David Rittich, Calgary Flames -- four-save