Binnington stopped 26 of 27 shots in the Blues' 4-1 win in Colorado on Wednesday. It was a great start to the season for Binnington, who struggled in the bubble, going 0-5-0 with a 4.72 GAA and .851 SV%. Wins against the Avalanche won't come easily, so Binnington is a risky option as he looks to start the season 2-0.
After a breakout 2019 campaign, Binnington came back down to earth a bit in 2020. He still managed to win 30 games while posting a 2.56 GAA and .912 SV% in 50 starts. Binnington struggled a bit on the road, going 10-8-2 with a .903 SV%, so he could have a tough start to the season with a road matchup in Colorado. He was 2-2-0 with a 3.98 GAA and .857 SV% in two starts vs. the Avalanche last year.
Krug is one of the league's best offensive-defensemen and will be a strong replacement for Alex Pietrangelo. Krug will likely skate on the top-pair with Colton Parayko and will quarterback the top power-play unit. His PP production has been elite but that's been on one of the best units in the NHL. It will be interesting to see how much of that carries over to St. Louis. Krug has registered at least 44 points in five straight seasons, averaging eight goals and 43 assists (51 points) per season.
Tucker was a seventh-round pick in 2018 and finished the 2019-20 OHL season eighth among defensemen with 56 points (17G / 39A) in 55 games between the Barrie Colts and Flint Firebirds. He will likely report to San Antonio (AHL) when he turns pro.
Abramov, 18, was a fourth-round pick of the Maple Leafs this past summer. Abramov has had a terrific QMJHL season, leading Victoriaville with 76 points (35G / 41A) in 63 games.
Binnington allowed three goals on 31 shots in the Blues loss in New Jersey last Friday. The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for Binnington, who comes into Monday at 20-4-5 with a 2.21 GAA, .918 SV% and three shutouts on home-ice. Tonight he’ll see a Panthers team that has gone 4-2-0 while averaging 3.83 goals for and 3.00 goals against per game in their last six road outings.
Carlo will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury, leaving the Bruins without two of their top-4 defensemen with Torey Krug also out. Carlo is day-to-day heading into the Bruins Friday/Saturday back-to-back.
Krug was in a few tussles during the Bruins loss to the Lightning on Saturday and is dealing with an upper-body injury heading into Tuesday's game. With Krug out, Connor Clifton will play for the first time since December 29th. Consider Krug as day-to-day heading into Friday's game in Buffalo.
