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Another Connor Hellebuyck meltdown pushes Jets-Blues to Game 7
Winnipeg Jets goalie xf is probably going to win his third Vezina Trophy this season as the league's best goalie and is a finalist for the league's MVP. During the regular season, he is not only one of the two best goalies in hockey, but he is also one of the most impactful players in the league, regardless of position, when it comes to creating wins for his team.
In short, he is usually great.
There is going to come a point, however, where Jets fans are going to get tired of hearing about that until he makes a similar impact in the playoffs. It has not happened over the past few seasons, and his latest meltdown on Friday night continued those struggles and furthered the narrative surrounding them.
He was pulled for the third time in six games in their first-round series against the St. Louis Blues, allowing five goals in two periods during a 5-2 loss. With the Blues' win, the series shifts to a Game 7 on Sunday night in Winnipeg.
It would be unfair to put all of the blame for Friday's game on Hellebuyck because the Jets, as a team, were not particularly good. Their offense was mostly non-existent, and the defensive structure was lacking at times.
But some of the goals that ended up beating him in the second period should simply not happen for a goalie of this caliber. Especially not in a game of this magnitude.
At one point the Blues scored three goals in just a little more than a two-minute stretch to take complete control of the game.
The latter two goals in that stretch definitely needed to be stopped.
HERE COME THE BLUES! #StanleyCup
— NHL (@NHL) May 3, 2025
The @StLouisBlues score THREE goals only 2:06 apart to jump out to a three-goal lead!
: @NHL_On_TNT & @SportsonMax ➡️ https://t.co/4TuyIATi3T
: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/Fy49GN9vJz
Entering play on Friday, Hellebuyck already had the worst save percentage among NHL goalies who appeared in at least 10 playoff games over the past three seasons.
That number only managed to get worse after allowing five goals on 27 shots.
It now sits at just .865 over 16 games. The next-worst goalie is at .882, so there is still a pretty big gap between him and the goalie directly above him.
It is a problem. A major problem. It might not be one they can overcome if Hellebuyck does not get significantly better starting on Sunday night.
As good as the Jets record has been the past couple seasons, and especially this season when they won the Presidents' Trophy with the league's best record, they do have flaws on their roster and in the way they play. Had it not been for Hellebuyck's consistent brilliance they probably do not win as many games as they have. He is the single biggest reason they are here.
They need him to find that again in the playoffs. If he does not do it on Sunday night in Game 7, he and all of Winnipeg are going to have to wait until next season for him to try again.
More must-reads:
- Three-time Stanley Cup champion retires after 21 NHL seasons
- One move for every NHL team that missed the playoffs
- The 'American League WAR leaders' quiz
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