St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington was suspended two games for roughing/unsportsmanlike conduct on Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced Thursday.
Binnington lost his cool after Hartman collided with him following Minnesota's fifth goal in what was ultimately an 8-5 win for the Wild. The netminder charged the Wild's celebration and threw a punch at Hartman before the officials broke up a potential goalie fight with Marc-Andre Fleury.
St. Louis' cagey goalie was assessed a two-minute penalty for leaving his crease, as well as a five-minute major and a game misconduct.
This is the first suspension of Binnington's career. The Department of Player Safety found he "recklessly" forced his way into Minnesota's celebration for the sake of "retribution," adding that his behavior wouldn't be tolerated.
Binnington said postgame that he thinks the impact of the punch was overblown and that Hartman's theatrics made it seem worse than it actually was.
"I don't think I caught (Hartman) too clean," he said, according to The Athletic's Jeremy Rutherford. "He's pretty good at diving. That's his game, and that's totally fine. But that's the ref's decision, and that's fine."
The goaltender also added that he thinks it was no accident when Hartman clipped him coming through the crease.
"We know the type of player he is," Binnington said. "I actually like his game, to be honest. He plays the game hard, and I respect it, and it's no problem. (But) he knows what he's doing. He's good at it."