Hellebuyck dispels thoughts of deja vu after rough start in Game 1

The night began with ear-splitting chants of “MVP, MVP, MVP” serenading Connor Hellebuyck before the puck had even dropped, a nod to his incredible regular-season where he shattered franchise records left and right.

But when Jordan Kyrou’s wrist shot eluded the Winnipeg Jets goaltender just 73 seconds into the second period — already the third St. Louis Blues goal he’d surrendered on just 10 shots — you could feel the mood start to shift inside Canada Life Centre.

The air was quickly coming out of the proverbial balloon with a nervous, anxious fan base that likely has some collective trauma from how things have played out the previous two springs.

It wasn’t nearly as subtle on social media, where the hot takes were pouring in fast and extremely furious.

“He looks as bad as the haters claimed he would. I know it’s early but woof.”

“Is Hellebuyck the worst playoff goalie of all time.”

“Playoff Helle strikes again.”

You get the picture. It wasn’t pretty.

But then a funny thing happened on the way to inexplicably condemning the guy who is a shoo-in to win a third Vezina Trophy and is a legitimate contender to win the Hart Trophy as well.

Late in the second period, with the Jets down a goal to the opportunistic Blues, Kyrou was sent in on a breakaway after a flip pass essentially bounced his way. This had extreme danger written all over it, a golden chance for the underdog visitors to really put a stranglehold in the game and snatch home-ice advantage away from the Presidents’ Trophy winners.

Hellebuyck had other ideas, calmly playing the deke attempt and making a difficult stop look rather routine, the way he so often does.

“He kind of drove wide. He had a couple options but he kind of looked like he was trying to use his speed to get around me,” Hellebuyck explained after the fact.

“In that moment I was just trying to smother him because he got a little tight to me and it stuck to me.”

File this one under the timeliest of saves. It kept the score 3-2 in favour of St. Louis and ultimately set the stage for a frantic comeback victory in the form of three straight third-period tallies by Winnipeg.

“You just have to make one big save and that’s going to be the difference maker. I thought that was it,” said Hellebuyck, who would only face a total of seven shots after Kyrou’s goal, including the breakaway bid. He turned them all aside.

“Big save at a big time. That’s Helly for us,” said Jets centre Mark Scheifele, who went on to have the primary assist on Alex Iafallo’s game-tying goal and Kyle Connor’s game-winning goal in the third period.

“He’s the backbone of this team and that was a tremendous save and obviously at a big point in the game. Kept us in it and played awesome tonight.”

“That’s playoff hockey. You have to play right to the last minute and right to the last second.”–Connor Hellebuyck

Hellebuyck’s final numbers definitely won’t jump on the page. A 3.00 goals-against-average is a full goal more than what he had during 62 regular-season starts. And a .824 save-percentage is not even in the same time zone as the .925 he posted over the six-month campaign.

But in the small sample size that is the playoffs, when you make a save can be more important than how many you make.

“That’s what great goaltenders do,” said Jets coach Scott Arniel.

“They (the Blues) have one and we have one. I think at the end of the day, just ask our guy to make one more big save than their guy and make sure we come out at the right end of it.”

Hellebuyck has the ultimate poker face and doesn’t show many emotions, certainly not when dealing with the media, so there’s no telling just how big this victory was for him. But in a year when the Jets have significantly raised the internal bar, gutting out a win and not letting a tough start wear him down seems enormous.

“That’s playoff hockey. You have to play right to the last minute and right to the last second,” said Hellebuyck.

“It was fun. The guys were buzzing out there. I didn’t get a whole lot of action in the third, but it was really fun to watch and be a part of. There will be a lot more.”

The Jets and their fans are certainly hoping that’s the case. His last two playoffs have been forgettable, with a combined 2-8 record against the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche. He had a bloated 5.23 GAA and .864 SV% last year, and a 3.44 GAA with an .886 SV% in 2022-23.

“With the way we played in the third, I don’t know if two (goal lead) would’ve been enough.”–Blues coach Jim Montgomery

That’s certainly not all on Hellebuyck, even if he ultimately wears it more than his teammates. It’s more a reflection on how the Jets have abandoned their systems and structure at the worst possible times.

Hellebuyck saw no evidence of that in Game 1.

“I thought we just continued with our details, continued putting the pressure on and getting the puck deep and not turning it over in the right areas. When we’re holding the puck the whole time it makes it like that,” he said of only facing two shots in the final period.

“I thought we were controlling the play pretty well. We played great and now we just have to move on to the next one and continue to do it,” he said.

Blues coach Jim Montgomery, clearly frustrated with how his team played once they got the lead, wasn’t so sure the breakaway save on Kyrou was as big of a deal as the Jets felt it was.

“With the way we played in the third, I don’t know if two (goal lead) would’ve been enough,” he said.

There was a moment late in the third period, once the Jets had already completed the comeback with Adam Lowry’s empty-net goal that tempers began to flare and several skirmishes broke out, the way they often do when two rivals get together in the playoffs.

Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington, who can run a little hot at times, began to make his way towards centre ice. Was he looking to drop the glove and blocker and go toe-to-toe with Hellebuyck?

“A goalie fight in playoffs would be dumb. That would just be dumb,” said Hellebuyck.

Maybe, but also entertaining and certainly memorable. Speaking of which, Hellebuyck said he’ll never forget how this game started for him, with the crowd showing their appreciation for his work so far with those MVP chants.

“That was crazy. That’s one of those things I’m going to remember for the rest of my life,” he said.

“That was really cool. That gave me a little boost and excitement for the game. I’m just so happy we pulled this one out and now we move forward.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg