ST. LOUIS — After Joel Hofer’s shutout Saturday over the Utah Mammoth, the St. Louis Blues coaching staff considered giving the backup goaltender another assignment Monday against the Anaheim Ducks.

“We did, but then his previous win was a shutout, too, and we went back with him and we didn’t win the following game,” Montgomery said. “So that was the logic behind it. (Jordan Binnington) had played four great games in a row for us.”

Indeed, Hofer made 28 saves in a 3-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 6, and then, making his first back-to-back starts of the season, gave up four goals on 30 shots in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Seattle Kraken. And indeed, in Binnington’s four previous games, he was 2-0-2 with a .935 save percentage.

So, as the Blues went looking for their first three-game winning streak of the season Monday, it was Binnington in net against Anaheim.

However, his appearance didn’t last long — Binnington surrendered two goals on five shots before being pulled 10:24 into the first period — and that decision didn’t sit well with him. When he was coming off the ice, he glared in Montgomery’s direction, grew a little animated, and voiced a few words behind his mask.

Binnington, who has typically found a seat on the Blues bench after being pulled in his career, instead went to the locker room for the remainder of the first period.

The Blues inserted Hofer in a game they trailed 2-1, and though he had 19 of 20 saves in relief, the Ducks added two more goals, including an empty-netter, for a 4-1 victory at Enterprise Center.

“You know, I love Jordan Binnington,” Montgomery said after the game. “He’s a competitor. He raises his games in the big moments all the time. I love him. He walked off the ice, he said, ‘I love you!’ I said, ‘I love you, too!’

“We’re both competitors, and at the end of the period, he waited for me, we apologized and we moved on. It’s over and done with.”

Binnington was not made available to the media after the game.

Though Hofer was coming off a shutout, Binnington’s last outing was a 25-save performance in a 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators. But his start against Anaheim wasn’t nearly as strong as the game against Ottawa.

The Ducks’ first goal was scored by Mason McTavish just 6:33 into the game. With Blues defenseman Cam Fowler racing to the puck along the wall, MacTavish turned and put a wrister past Binnington on the short side for 1-0 lead.

🚨 Mac-T 🚨

He snaps that one home! #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/q9eC9U7FaQ

— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) December 2, 2025

Fowler might’ve gotten a stick on the shot, which could’ve altered the direction, but when asked afterward if he got a piece of it, the defenseman replied: “I’m not sure.”

As a team, the Blues shook it off quickly, with Jordan Kyrou scoring his club-high eighth goal of the season just 20 seconds later for a 1-1 score. The Blues then went on the first of their six power plays with a chance to take the lead, but unit registered just two shots on goal.

That’s when Anaheim’s Pavel Mintyukov, at the end of a 59-second penalty-kill shift, raced into the Ducks’ offensive zone and appeared content with just putting a shot on net.

“I was alone, so I’m not going to try to take (the) D one-on-one,” Mintyukov said. “So I just tried to shoot it.”

That shot beat Binnington far side, and suddenly the Blues trailed, 2-1.

🚨 Minty 🚨

What a snipe!
We lead 2-1! #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/MRvrrTKLJi

— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) December 2, 2025

Following that goal, FanDuel Sports Network cameras caught Montgomery’s reaction on the bench and he didn’t appear to like either one of the goals against. Montgomery then motioned for Hofer to replace for Binnington.

After the game, Montgomery was asked if pulling Binnington was the result of the Blues needing saves on Ducks’ first two goals, and he replied: “Yep, that and just wanted to switch momentum. We had a couple games earlier where I wish I would’ve done more and I didn’t want to have any regrets. So, I made the switch.”

Montgomery, who’s coached Ben Bishop with the Dallas Stars and Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark with the Boston Bruins, has had to make several of these difficult decisions in the past.

What goes into his thinking?

“For me, I’ve always looked at where the goals came from, and what’s the percentage that those goals should go in,” Montgomery said. “A lot of times you let goalies fight through it. But sometimes when I feel that the goalie looks off, just like a player, I pull back his minutes.

“I sit Buchy and Thomas for two minutes, they don’t play 19 minutes, they play 17 minutes and no one really notices. Unfortunately for a goalie, everybody knows that you’re pulling him.”

Especially the goalie.

In his nine-year career, Binnington has become the Blues’ all-time leader in games played, starts and wins. The 32-year-old has been disappointed when being pulled, but never so visually.

As Montgomery mentioned, the two spoke in between periods, and Binnington returned to the Blues’ bench for the start of the second.

“It’s just the professionalism that you expect from someone like Binner, as well as letting my own ego go, and just going to him,” Montgomery said. “It’s important that you deal with it right away. I don’t love dealing with conflict, but in life you have to deal with conflict and you deal with it right away and nothing festers then.”

Binnington’s exit from the game didn’t go unnoticed by his teammates, and, as one would expect, they were supportive of the goalie.

“We’re all competitive,” Fowler said. “We’re trying to win hockey games around here, and, yeah, of course, I like seeing the fire out of him.”

“We know what Binner is about and he’s competitive,” Jake Neighbours added. “He wants to play and he wants to compete and be with his teammates. That’s just who he is. That competitive spirit is what we love about Binner. He’s just being himself.”

As far as the Blues’ starter for Thursday’s game against the Bruins, Montgomery said: “We’ve got two days to decide.”