There is no shortage of drama between St. Louis Blues’ goaltender Jordan Binnington and Colorado Avalanche center Nazem Kadri. After a collision between the pipes in Game 3 of their second-round series that effectively ended Binnington’s season, Binnington threw a water bottle at Kadri in the hall after the game.
“Not sure if he just threw a water bottle at me or not,” Kadri said while discussing the play on the TNT postgame show on May 21.
On Tuesday, Binnington confirmed that he threw the water bottle while offering his explanation.
“So I went to get my knee checked out in-game,” he said. “I was coming back to the rink, the game just ended, walking down the hallway, couldn’t find a recycling bin on my way down the hallway, and right before I walked into the locker room, I see him kind of doing the interview there, smiling, laughing and I’m there in a knee brace limping down the hallway.
“I felt like it was a God-given opportunity,” Binnington continued. “I don’t know, I could stay silent and go in the room or I could say something and have him look me in the eye and understand what’s going on, something to think about. I threw the water bottle — an empty water bottle. It landed like two feet from him. It is what it is there.”
“It is what it is there. I mean, but it is what it is. It’s hockey and it’s a competitive game. So … that’s it.”
This isn’t the first run-in between Binnington and Kadri. Last October, Binnington was given a 10-minute penalty for swinging his goalie stick at Kadri after an altercation on the ice between the two teams.