Despite his team walking away with a 5-4 overtime win versus the Dallas Stars on Friday night, Winnipeg Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck wasn’t very thrilled with how things transpired.
Though he didn’t have a media avail after the game, he was able to speak with reporters on Saturday afternoon, where he voiced his frustration over a play late in the game that resulted in the Stars tying things up at four. With less than a minute to play, the Jets goaltender was hit unintentionally by Stars forward Jamie Benn. This resulted in his helmet dislodging, while he laid injured on the ice.
Though he was visibly hurt, however, none of the officials blew their whistle, and roughly five seconds later, Jason Robertson was able to score on the empty net. How the goal counted was anyone’s guess, but it did, and the Jets, nor Hellebuyck, were very happy about it.
“Those refs made a mistake. … They put me in danger,” Hellebuyck said to reporters. “A lot of bad things that could have came from that. Plain and simple, when a goalie’s mask gets knocked off, the play needs to get blown dead.
“I’m glad that I didn’t have to speak last night because I know a lot more now than I did then. I was a lot more emotional then. … Just like a player who loses his helmet has to go to the bench … the same thing should apply for a goalie.”
Thankfully, the Jets goaltender was able to walk away from the incident uninjured, but as he said, it could have been much worse. It has been a fantastic start to the season for the 29-year-old, who owns a 2.46 goals against average along with a .926 save percentage through 15 starts. If he can remain healthy, this Jets team has a great shot at getting back into the playoffs this season.
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