Connor Hellebuck - Worst Playoff Goalie in NHL history

[ViD]

I predict he’s going to have two good games and the Jets win the series 4-2 and this thread will be one very quiet

 

[Klank Loves You]

If you're a Jets fan, I think it's pretty concerning how often Hellebuck has been beaten cleanly up high. The Blues got some top tier puck luck Sunday. Hard to really blame him for that game. But game 3 was awful.

This is always the issue when your goalie is "The Guy." That's a lot of pressure on a position that is historically inconsistent. At least when your top skaters go missing, it's mildly expected.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

Hellebuyck plays deep in the net and that leaves him vulnerable up high and to tips/deflections. The Blues are taking full advantage of this with lots of traffic in front and bombs from the point. Helly and his teammates need to find a way to mitigate that better. The Blues are owning the net-front currently.

And that’s not to say playing deep in your net is necessarily automatically bad. Many goalies do that, particularly bigger ones, including the Blues backup Hofer. You just have to know the potential risks and mitigate that risk as much as possible.

Binnington is the opposite - plays super aggressive at the top of the circle. It cuts down the angles head on but leaves him vulnerable to east-west plays and backdoor tap-ins. So far, the Blues are mitigating their goalie’s vulnerability better than the Jets are.

This is the analysis Marty Biron gave. Yes Helle should be better but the Jets are forcing Helle to play to his weakness when they were great at boxing out those chances in the regular season.

Also.. the Blues have been on an absolute rampage since 4-Nations. Arguably the best team in the league the final 2 months.

 

[Cup Or Bust]

I think Stuart Skinner owns that title.

 

[Johnny HFBOARDS]

All part of the script, what better story than an MVP that lets in the most goals and wins the cup.

 

[Summer Rose]

All part of the script, what better story than an MVP that lets in the most goals and wins the cup.

You joke, but this isn't actually rare, considering the teams that make the finals also almost invariably have the most games played.

The example I'll cite because it's the first one that came to mind is the 2003 New Jersey Devils. 41 goals against was the highest of the 16 playoff teams, but of course, they and their finals opponent (Anaheim) had 24 and 21 games played respectively, and the losing conference finalists had 18 each. For reference, the 2003 Mighty Ducks team only gave up 40 goals in the 2003 playoffs.

On the other hand, the Conn Smythe went to Giguère that year, despite his team losing in the finals.

 

[Johnny HFBOARDS]

You joke, but this isn't actually rare, considering the teams that make the finals also almost invariably have the most games played.

The example I'll cite because it's the first one that came to mind is the 2003 New Jersey Devils. 41 goals against was the highest of the 16 playoff teams, but of course, they and their finals opponent (Anaheim) had 24 and 21 games played respectively, and the losing conference finalists had 18 each. For reference, the 2003 Mighty Ducks team only gave up 40 goals in the 2003 playoffs.

On the other hand, the Conn Smythe went to Giguère that year, despite his team losing in the finals.

I don't joke, I think this is the classic story. Hockey is what happens, if it's unlikely, it has a really good chance of happening.

Better story would be that they were down 3-1.

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

Hellebuyck is single handedly sinking the ship again in Winnipeg. This teams playoff success solely depends on this guy. I feel bad for him. Maybe the Jets need to get a better goalie coach to help him?

 

[Frank Drebin]

playoff chocker

 

[TGWL]

When there is a lot more space, you can force players to the side a little bit more with boxing them out. When the play gets tighter, it's a little harder to just box them out. The structure often takes a hit and changes during the playoffs. But with that said, you except the best regular season goalie to be able to play out of their comfort zone and bail you out.

Only 40'ish% of the shots came behind the faceoff circles. Jet's need to clean up a little bit.

 

[Ignatius]

Helle, Vasi and Darcy were all nominated for the Vezina and none of the three are performing particularly well in these playoffs. I want to projectile vomit at the thought of Calvin Pickard outperforming Kuemper but here we are.

 

[Weezeric]

I love small samples. That’s how I know Kulikov and Schmidt are just as good or better than Makar!

 

[torniojaws]

I voted no because there is no one in the league named Connor Hellebuck. But there is a goalie who plays for Winnipeg named Connor Hellebuyck.

Helledimeadozen?

 

[The Crypto Guy]

He’s just not a big game goalie. Great regular season goalie though.

 

[torniojaws]

Helle, Vasi and Darcy were all nominated for the Vezina and none of the three are performing particularly well in these playoffs. I want to projectile vomit at the thought of Calvin Pickard outperforming Kuemper but here we are.

There should be a "playoffs Vezina", or even change the trophy rules to also include the playoffs.

 

[Stelmacki]

Hellebuyck is single handedly sinking the ship again in Winnipeg. This teams playoff success solely depends on this guy. I feel bad for him. Maybe the Jets need to get a better goalie coach to help him?

Hellebuyck has been bad, but I think it’s pretty unfair to paint him as the reason Winnipeg is struggling.

 

[VivaLasVegas]

He’s just not a big game goalie. Great regular season goalie though.

Playoffs are just a different animal. You're no longer playing the bottom-16 teams and most playoff teams discard the strategy of peppering the goalie with repeated shots from the perimeter, but instead get inside for the really greasy shots, deflections, rebounds, jam-it-in, etc.

IMHO, the Jets' other defenders are doing Helle no great favors either.

For that matter, the Jets also haven't been generating enough offense to keep the pressure off their defense, G1 1 point, G2 2 points, G3 1 point .... that ain't getting any playoff team out of Round 1.

 

[westc2]

I think this series should show how important it is to have a goalie who can play the puck behind the net, and can make unreal saves they aren't supposed to make. Helle is too much of a "by the book" type of goalie that relies on his team defense, whereas Binnington has a more wild and unpredictable style.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I expected this to be an overreaction thread… but a .863 over the past three years is egregiously bad for any goalie, let alone a guy with HHOF aspirations.

Yes, a 14 game sample is small. But it’s not that small. If your goalie had a .863 after the first 14 games of the season you’d assign him to the AHL and roll the dice with a waiver claim.

 

[heretik27]

Lots of tip ins, bounces, bit of puck luck, PPG's, goals scored seconds after a PP ended, and at least one horrific misplay by Helle on a dump in. It's a combination of St Louis getting traffic in front of his eyes and capitalizing on their chances and the Jets inability to stay out of the box. The Jets as a whole need to be better in games 5 and 6 if they want to win. It's not all on Helle, St. Louis should get their props for playing simple, effective playoff hockey. Aside from the misplayed dump in, I don't know if I'd say he's had any real MAFesque highlight f*** ups, he just isn't making any game changing saves that the Jets need.

 

[Fataldogg]

It doesnt look like he has a second gear that we've seen from great goaltenders like Price, Lundqvist, Rask, Vasilevskiy, Quick, etc.

Bobrovsky was able to shake that label. Maybe he can too.

 

[SCP Guy]

Until you prove you can be a BIG game goalie you are not a BIG game goalie....... Still waiting, hope it comes soon lol

 

[M88K]

Watching the Jets vs Blues and I am amazed how big of a choker Helleybuck is come the playoffs.

He is probably the best goalie in the NHL since 05 if you look at just regular season hockey.

However, in the playoffs he just sells games and isn't stealing anything for the Jets besides their chances to win a game.

Since 2005, is Helleybuck the worst vezina winning playoff goaltender?

This is easy to look up

notice Bob is right there with him

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

More like Hella-Suck, amirite??

 

[Hunter368]

Helle is a big boring style of goalie, like most goalies these days. While not being any goalie expert makes me doubt it’s any skill or physical issue………..wonder if he needs or would benefit from seeing a sports psychologist like Marc Andre Fleury did in 2013 to help him get over his performance and preparation issues.