What’s wrong with Connor Hellebuyck?
That’s a question that the No. 1 overall Winnipeg Jets, Hellebuyck and goalie coach Wade Flaherty will have to figure out — and soon.
Game 7 will be Sunday night in Winnipeg after the St. Louis Blues tied the series with a 5-2 win on Friday.
Hellebuyck was pulled for the third time in three games in St. Louis as Jets coach Scott Arniel inserted backup Eric Comrie into the net for the third period after his No. 1 goalie gave up four goals in the second period and five goals on 23 shots.
‘Tonight was not about Connor,’ Arniel said. ‘Tonight, we imploded in front of him.’
He blamed the team getting away from its game and having breakdowns in coverage, just as it had in a Game 4 loss.
‘We shot ourselves in the foot,’ he said. ‘We did some uncharacteristic things and the momentum swung.’
Still, it’s another puzzling turn of events for Hellebuyck, who’s a finalist again for the Vezina Trophy and received enough votes from the Professional Hockey Writers Association to be a finalist for the Hart Trophy as MVP to his team.
He had 47 wins in the regular season, but that form hasn’t been evident in the playoffs, especially on the road.
He gave up six goals in Game 3, five in Game 4 and another five in Game 6. He was pulled all three times and has a save percentage above .900 in only one home game.
Hellebuyck once was a playoff stalwart, but the change started in 2023, when he had an .886 save percentage. He won the Vezina last season, but the Colorado Avalanche shelled him in the playoffs, leaving him with a 5.23 goals-against average and an .864 save percentage.
He is at 4.42 and .815 after Game 6. He gave up a goal on the first shot with traffic in front of him. He had a couple good saves early in the second period but then gave up three goals in 2:06 to fall behind 4-1. Arniel kept him in for the rest of the period and he gave up another goal.
The Blues, at least in St. Louis, have been able to get traffic in front of Hellebuyck and it’s hard to stop what you can’t see. But the Jets will be able to get better matchups during the franchise’s first home Game 7. They’ll have the crowd behind them.
The Jets had that in Game 5 and won.
‘It’s a one-game showdown,’ Arniel said. ‘It’s our goalie against their goalie. It’s our best players against their best players. It’s our grinders going against theirs. It’s specialty teams. It’s D-zone coverage.
‘It’s getting to Jet hockey here, getting back to it again and you know what? I have a lot of confidence in our group, not just (Hellebuyck), I have a lot of confidence in our group. You win one hockey game, you move on to the next round.’