A Gold Medal Risk: Could Canada Bench Binnington In The Gold Medal Game?

With the gold medal game on the horizon for both Canada and the USA, it hasn’t been as easy a ride as Canada may have hoped to have had compared to the USA, and come the gold medal game, they may have one massive decision to make. Having conceded some sloppy goals and making it hard for themselves to come back and win, could a shock goaltender change be on the horizon for Canada?

Having brought along Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson as well as usual starter Jordan Binnington, Thompson has played one game in this year's Olympic games, but could he be in for a shock start in the gold medal game? Binnington has proved doubters wrong time and time again when doubted upon in big games, notably shutting down chatter when he won Canada the Four Nations final last February, however with how Canada have performed so far this Olympic games, it wouldn’t be crazy to see him subject to a change in the final game of the games.

Throughout the NHL season it is clear that Logan Thompson has been one of the NHL’s best goalies, Binnington, not so much. However on the international stage Binnington has proved himself, he has shown up when called upon in big games, and has often been vital for Canada, but it is safe to say in the Olympic games there has been some underlying issues within his game, and it could come back to bite him.

In their last two games, the quarter and semi finals, Canada have not made it easy. They went down early against Czechia and only just managed to scrape away with the win in overtime after a late equaliser. Against Finland, they took a 2-0 deficit towards the end of the second period, and with a bit of luck and magic, they scored 3 unanswered, getting them to another Olympic gold medal game. Despite how good their offense is and how deep they are, theory goaltending hasn’t been talked about enough. Binnington isn’t exactly playing the best, his NHL game is translating to the games in Milan, and some massive mistakes have been made. Sure he came up clutch against Czechia in overtime, and we had this exact same talk last year at the Four Nations, however with one of the NHL’s best goalies sitting on the bench, it looks like starting Thompson against better opposition could be the play.

Obviously benching the goaltender who has started almost every game wouldn’t be and easy or somewhat smart decision to make in one of the biggest games possible, however it could be a risk worth taking, and with Binnington’s track record and inconsistent play throughout the tournament, the US attack may be too strong for him to handle, and Canada wouldn’t want to regret not making a big change.