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.
