McKenna Match of the Day: October 31 – Jonathan Quick vs. Jordan Binnington

Former NHL goalie Mike McKenna offers his daily starting goalie game of the day for Monday. October 31, 2022:

Why I love this game:

St. Louis has lost four straight games and Los Angeles is trying to catch up in the Pacific Division. And lately, both teams have struggled to keep the puck out of their net.

To monitor :

Binnington started hot. He’s allowed just seven goals in his first five starts. But things took a turn for the worse in his last outing against Montreal, when he allowed six goals on 24 shots. From what I’ve seen this year, I think his game against the Canadiens was unique. Binnington has been good in his other four starts. He is confident in his positioning and puck handling.

Quick has some of the best reflexes in the world, but he relies on them so much that his positional game hasn’t been updated in years. He prefers reaching for the pucks rather than pushing. And his overuse of the paddle-down caused easy goals against in the top half of the net. But against a transition team like St. Louis, his freeform style could be beneficial. Fast is best when he’s patient and lets the game come to him.

What fantasy owners should do:

Quick has allowed three or more goals in five of his six starts. And his record is 2-4-0. Against St. Louis, a team that needs a big response game, I would leave him on the bench. Binnington, however, I would start. He had four quality starts in five games.

Conclusion for Jonathan Quick:

His game needs to improve for the Kings to advance to the playoffs.

Conclusion for Jordan Binnington:

He needs strong even-strength play. The Kings have scored the NHL’s best 24 goals in a 5-on-5 game.