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Sam’s Daily: Binnington Admits To Throwing Bottle At Kadri, Calls It ‘God-Given Opportunity’

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NHL and Blues goalie Jordan binnington

With the Conference Finals underway and the Stanley Cup Playoffs still rolling on, several teams have seen their postseason runs come to an end, and on NHL team breakdown days, a lot of news has come out. St. Louis was no different.

The Blues held their breakdown day on Tuesday following the team’s series loss to the Colorado Avalanche. It was there that goaltender Jordan Binnington spoke more on the alleged water bottle incident with Nazem Kadri.

Kadri crashed the net and went hard into Binnington early in the first period of Game 3 of the second-round series. That collision sidelined the St. Louis netminder for the remainder of the series. It also resulted in controversy, and in Binnington letting his emotions get the better of him.

After the game, Kadri was speaking to NHL on TNT reporters postgame when an injured Binnington was walking down the hallway, carrying an empty water bottle. And when he spotted Kadri, he let his emotions get the best of him.

“I couldn’t find a recycling bin on my way down the hallway… before I walked into the locker room, I see him kind of doing an interview there, smiling, laughing. And I’m there in a knee brace limping down the hallway. I just felt like it was a God-given opportunity,” Binnington admitted to reporters.

Binnington threw the water bottle at Kadri then, which he says landed about two feet in front of Kadri. Kadri told reporters on the air what had happened, though the incident wasn’t caught on camera.

“I could just stay silent and go in the room, or I could say something and just have him look me in the eye and understand what’s going on, something to think about,” Binnington added, also saying, “It is what it is there… it’s hockey and it’s a competitive game. So that’s it.”

The 28-year-old netminder had an impressive postseason with a 4-1-0 record, .949 save percentage and 1.72 GAA through six starts. Ville Husso relieved him for the remainder of the series, which the Blues lost in six games. Meanwhile, Kadri faced backlash for the incident, leading to a “Stand With Kaz” movement. He would go on to score a hat trick in Game 4.

Here are other news, notes and headlines, from D.C. to the rest of the league:

Washington Capitals Links:

  • Speaking of Kadri, is he a realistic option for Washington next season? We explore the possibility of him landing in D.C. (WHN)
  • Before the Capitals consider top-6 options, they also have to address goaltending. And, as it happens, two of their netminders are RFAs. So, who do they stick with? (WHN)
  • And, who fills in for Tom Wilson to start 2022-23? (WHN)

NHL Links:

  • Washington isn’t the only team struggling with netminding. The longtime rival Pittsburgh Penguins also need help in net. (PHN)
  • Potential goaltending free agent target Darcy Kuemper, meanwhile, will look to stay on a roll with the Avs facing Edmonton in the WCF. (CHN)
  • We all love a great goaltending story, and Mike Smith is perhaps the most chaotic and just… epic one. (ESPN)
  • And, in playoff news, who is the leading Conn Smythe candidate? (PHT)