Connor Hellebuyck - Worst Playoff Goalie in NHL history

[Breakers]

New Series which is a fresh slate

but man did he suck in this series, and he retreats to his goal line so much when he lets in a soft goal.

 

[Fantomas]

The only goalie statistics I follow are goals saved above expected per 60 and wins above replacement. Out of the 18 goalies that have played in 3 games or more this postseason, Hellebuyck currently sits at 18th place at both of those statistics, far far away from the rest of the pack... as he did last year.

Did you really need those stats to assess how bad he's been?

 

[Gm0ney]

The fact that Hellebuyck was able to apparently regain his form after that 3rd goal makes me hopeful he can stabilize. When he goes off his game, the Jets skaters go off their game and it just becomes a race to the bottom.

The Jets are really used to Vezina-caliber goaltending, so when the rug gets pulled out from under them, their on-ice play devolves into chaos.

It's different with the Oilers, who have come to expect terrible goaltending. So whenever they happen to get something approaching average goaltending they're like Forrest Gump when he runs right out of his leg braces.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

Hellebuyck faced only 13 shots in the 3rd period and 2OT periods. The Blues looked completely gassed to me offensively.

He'll have to show much more for me to dismiss 3 consecutive years of putrid playoffs to say that he's "turned the corner".

 

[PistolPete]

He gave up a ton of goals with generally stable defense (2nd fewest xGA/game and scoring chances/game, 4th fewest High danger chances per game). A .830 is an unacceptable sv% for a guy who's about to win his 2nd Vezina in a row and maybe a Hart

Dips and valleys. Dips and valleys. They're going to happen, so to evaluate off of one series isn't very accurate.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

Dips and valleys. Dips and valleys. They're going to happen, so to evaluate off of one series isn't very accurate.

That's the problem with playoff Hellebucyk. All dips and valleys and no peaks.

 

[PistolPete]

That's the problem with playoff Hellebucyk. All dips and valleys and no peaks.

I took a quick glance at his stats and a couple seemed like they were good numbers. Didn't so a deep dive though to see how he performed relative to other goalies that year

 

[TGWL]

Bailed out by his team. Hopefully he knows that and comes determined to return the favor for them. If they continue to advance and he finds a way to settle down, or even steal a round, nobody is going to care about the 1st round.

 

[PistolPete]

Bailed out by his team. Hopefully he knows that and comes determined to return the favor for them. If they continue to advance and he finds a way to settle down, or even steal a round, nobody is going to care about the 1st round.

But why come down so hard on him when a bad series is a normal thing for any player.

They way people were lambasting him I got the impression he was a horrible playoff goalie every year

 

[Thallis]

But why come down so hard on him when a bad series is a normal thing for any player.

They way people were lambasting him I got the impression he was a horrible playoff goalie every year

It's not normal for goalies to have 3 bad series in a row, especially when they're in the middle of a run where they win multiple vezinas and a possible Hart trophy. Also in most cases, the valley isn't single handedly throwing a series. Elite goalies don't usually have valleys that deep.

 

[TGWL]

But why come down so hard on him when a bad series is a normal thing for any player.

They way people were lambasting him I got the impression he was a horrible playoff goalie every year

Because he wasn't good, and this isn't the first time he wasn't good. He's a guy who crushes it in the regular season, making a lot of money, so you expect him to crush it during the post season.

 

[PistolPete]

It's not normal for goalies to have 3 bad series in a row, especially when they're in the middle of a run where they win multiple vezinas and a possible Hart trophy. Also in most cases, the valley isn't single handedly throwing a series. Elite goalies don't usually have valleys that deep.

You may be on to something there.

 

[larmex99]

I wouldn’t invest too much energy in writing his obituary yet. There is still a lot of hockey to be played.

 

[WATTAGE4451]

The reports of Hellebuyck's demise have been greatly exaggerated.

He was back to looking like his normal self from the third period on tonight, which is a big relief to Jets fans as he certainly will play better going forward than he did for the majority of this series.

He only faced 3 shots in the 3rd period. Then 4 in first overtime and 5 in 2nd. In the 3rd period plus 2 overtimes he faced 13 shots in 56:10. Thats like a whole games worth of time and only 13 shots he wasnt much tested.

 

[WATTAGE4451]

But why come down so hard on him when a bad series is a normal thing for any player.

They way people were lambasting him I got the impression he was a horrible playoff goalie every year

Cuz he had a bad playoffs 3 postseasons in a row getting worse ecah time despite good regular seaspns those years. Starting to look like pattern. He can end that narrative by rebounding next series

 

[Gm0ney]

Cuz he had a bad playoffs 3 postseasons in a row getting worse ecah time despite good regular seaspns those years. Starting to look like pattern. He can end that narrative by rebounding next series

Anything can happen in small samples...and 15 games is a pretty small sample for a goalie. He's proven to be an elite goalie over hundreds of regular season games, playing behind both defensively competent and incompetent Jets teams. I'd expect him to start regressing back to his mean eventually.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

it’s an absolute mystery to me why he suddenly plays so poorly in the postseason.

Good news though is that he’s still young and has lots of time to change the narrative.

 

[wunderpanda]

worst playoff goalie will always be lundqvist because of context. rags entire system for a decade was built around him getting the win. everyone blocking shots, losing an eye, breaking an ankle so he could hold on to win a 1 goal game. henry couldn't get it done. callahan broke everything to help him, staal can't see, mcdonough likely needs voodoo to walk, richards was nearly crippled, msl ran away to canada to avoid being in the same country with him. coaches are unemployed because they had to prop him up. legacies were destroyed for a fashion model that wanted to larp as a goalie. helle at least cares about hockey, cheeseqvist just wanted magazine spreads, billboards and a job on tv. 5'9 goalie wearing 6'4 pads, absolute scum with a toupee & botox playing on urine colored ice. the 3 blocks around msg smell like urine and have bits of concrete falling on people walking along the sidewalk.

 

[ijuka]

worst playoff goalie will always be lundqvist because of context. rags entire system for a decade was built around him getting the win. everyone blocking shots, losing an eye, breaking an ankle so he could hold on to win a 1 goal game. henry couldn't get it done. callahan broke everything to help him, staal can't see, mcdonough likely needs voodoo to walk, richards was nearly crippled, msl ran away to canada to avoid being in the same country with him. coaches are unemployed because they had to prop him up. legacies were destroyed for a fashion model that wanted to larp as a goalie. helle at least cares about hockey, cheeseqvist just wanted magazine spreads, billboards and a job on tv. 5'9 goalie wearing 6'4 pads, absolute scum with a toupee & botox playing on urine colored ice. the 3 blocks around msg smell like urine and have bits of concrete falling on people walking along the sidewalk.

One of the worst takes I've ever seen on here, and that's saying a lot.

 

[Nicko999]

it’s an absolute mystery to me why he suddenly plays so poorly in the postseason.

Good news though is that he’s still young and has lots of time to change the narrative.

He's 31 soon to be 32 (in about 10 days).

Even for a goalie he is not young. I don't think he is changing any narrative.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

He's 31 soon to be 32 (in about 10 days).

Even for a goalie he is not young. I don't think he is changing any narrative.

He could win a cup this year. That would change the narrative.

Seriously, would it be so shocking if he suddenly found his game and became a wall? If that happens it's all anyone will remember.

 

[Summer Rose]

He could win a cup this year. That would change the narrative.

Seriously, would it be so shocking if he suddenly found his game and became a wall? If that happens it's all anyone will remember.

I've seen it several times where a goaltender just goes absolutely God mode and carries a team way further than you might predict out of the quality of their roster. Early on it seemed to be that there was a pattern where a goaltender who did that would carry his team all the way to the finals, but they'd ultimately lose in the last round. First year I watched the playoffs in full (well, for the most part, since I only had one TV back then and if there were multiple games on at once I had to choose one) was 2002, and you could say that Arturs Irbe did that, perhaps. In 2003, I don't think you'll find anyone arguing that Giguere didn't do exactly that. Then Kiprusoff in 2004. What a great start to playoff hockey storylines for me.

Sometimes it comes when you don't really expect it. Goalies can be unpredictable like that.

 

[Daximus]

He only faced 3 shots in the 3rd period. Then 4 in first overtime and 5 in 2nd. In the 3rd period plus 2 overtimes he faced 13 shots in 56:10. Thats like a whole games worth of time and only 13 shots he wasnt much tested.

I think a lot of people don't realize that the Jets style is sort of this. Helle generally isn't tested much and the Jets have been limiting the chances against him. He makes saves he can see for the most part during the regular season. The Jets live and die by that. When he goes into soft goal mode the entire gameplan is out the window.

 

[RevengeOfTheDrai]

Looks like Hellebuyck is turning it around. (Un) regressing to the mean.

 

[Nicko999]

Looks like Hellebuyck is turning it around. (Un) regressing to the mean.

It's one period... let's wait until at least Game 3 before saying anything like that