This is not a website known for holding back when an athlete gives an egregious performance on a big stage, but even I, the cynical blogger hardened by years of easy insults, couldn't help but feel my heart sink when Connor Hellebuyck let in two goals on the St. Louis Blues' first four shots. I've referred to the 10-year Winnipeg Jets vet as the league's hardest-working goalie—this regular season was his fifth topping the NHL in games played—but yet again, it looked like he took an untimely vacation when his team needed him most. It required some incredible Jets magic to bring Hellebuyck back from Fraudwatch, but that's exactly what his teammates did.
Up until three seconds remained in Game 7, Hellebuyck's last three years had all followed a frustrating pattern. In the regular season, he would be an absolute workhorse who produced staggering shot-stopping numbers—the kind that could singlehandedly lift any team into Cup contention. But as soon as the playoffs started, that skill would mysteriously desert him. In 2023, the Golden Knights dispatched the Jets in five as Hellebuyck's save percentage plummeted from .920 in the regular season to .886 for the series. In 2024, Helle won the Vezina Trophy for the second time in his career but made the ceremony a bit awkward by putting up a 5.23 goals against average in a five-game loss to the Avalanche. This series, against a streaking Blues squad, saw him hit a new career low—three yanks in three road losses where he allowed a total of 16 goals, with an overall first-round save percentage of just .830. In his lowest moments, including the first period on Sunday, Jets skaters weren't doing anything to ease his burden. But as the team's most important guy—maybe the single most important guy on any team—it was Hellebuyck's job to provide a solid foundation, and instead he was the sinkhole.
When Mathieu Joseph pickpocketed Kyle Connor and sped into the attacking zone, he was only able to take a routine shot from distance on the Winnipeg netminder. Yet that attempt, which found its way through to the net, seemed to spell doom for a Jets team that had already blown the chance to clinch on Friday night.
And even though Winnipeg's boys rallied from such a listless first, the Blues' third goal, just before second intermission, only appeared to emphasize the cruelty of the game to these home fans.
Then Winnipeg's miracle equalizer gave him a new lease on life, and Hellebuyck pitched a shutout in overtime. It wasn't a tour de force, exactly. A stout Jets defense and a tired Blues attack made it so that the only person who would have cleanly beaten Hellebuyck was himself. But over 36 overtime minutes of both teams creating solid if not spectacular chances, he held off whatever playoff demons have been tormenting him.
For Hellebuyck, it was a slow but inexorable shift in momentum; by definition, the more Blues shots he stopped, the better he looked, and the better he must have felt. It was just a little at a time, but with about 13 minutes to go in OT2, it was hard to ignore. A particularly breathless stretch of hockey came to a halt when Hellebuyck gloved a fairly unthreatening backhand, and the crowd cheered in response. To me, it wasn't a desperate cheer, the kind that emerges from a fanbase prepared for failure. It was normal, and why wouldn't it be? Connor Hellebuyck was the goalie they'd pinned their hopes to for a decade, and here he was, making yet another save. It was indistinguishable from the 17,000 or so he's made in a Jets uniform. He was just doing his job, and he did it well enough that a few minutes later, Adam Lowry was able to extend the season.
Winnipeg has the benefit of starting the Stars series at home, but these games will still be a trial for Hellebuyck as he looks to reset. Play like he did in St. Louis, and his struggles will continue to overshadow his lower-stakes triumphs. But this most improbable of comebacks, and his old-fashioned solid play in sudden death, show that even the most persistent narrative isn't indelible until the final horn sounds. Hellebuyck has a whole new chance to write the story.
