Connor Hellebuyck Admits a Costly Change May Have Sabotaged His Playoff Performance

The Vezina Trophy finalist and Winnipeg Jets netminder struggled in the playoffs, particularly on the road, going 0-6 with a 5.06 goals-against average and .809 save percentage.

Hellebuyck was pulled a staggering three times in seven games in Round 1

The Jets lost to the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Second Round in six games. Winnipeg took seven games to defeat St. Louis in the opening round but pulled Hellebuyck in three, allowing 16 goals on 66 shots (.758 save percentage).

'The first round was a roller coaster and a mental grind,' Hellebuyck said. 'Once we got through that, the weight of the world came off my shoulders and I started going back to playing my game. Everything that I was studying in the previous round started to come together back to my game. You might be able to find some tweaks but you don't want to find a ton of tweaks in your game. It's one little thing here and there. You kind of ride with that for a little bit. The second you overgrip it and start overthinking, that's when you lose your edge.'

He was slightly better against Dallas, with shutouts in Games 2 and 5, finishing that series with a 2.20 GAA and .905 save percentage.

In total, Hellebuyck's playoff numbers, a 6-7 record, 3.08 GAA, and .866 save percentage, were worlds apart from his phenomenal regular season.

'If you start thinking the game and start overthinking the game, then you lose the 'it' factor,' Hellebuyck said. 'Once I started having fun again, the level of fun that I'm accustomed to, that's when my game got good and I just started playing. That's what I am going to live and die by.'

The 32-year-old led the NHL in wins (47), goals-against average (2.00), and shutouts (eight) and ranked second in save percentage (.925).

'Bad bounces happen and sometimes you just can't control them,' Hellebuyck said. 'In the playoffs, a lot of chaos happens.'

He also earned his second straight William M. Jennings Trophy as the Jets' defense limited opponents to a league-low 2.33 goals per game and won the Presidents' Trophy with a 56-22-4 record.

If the Jets had won, they would have been missing star defenseman Josh Morrissey, who injured his left knee during Game 6.

He left late in the second period after a crash into Dallas forward Mikko Rantanen and said the injury most likely would have sidelined him for the rest of the playoffs.