Brossoit gets call against Sens

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This article was published 02/05/2021 (1590 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Laurent Brossoit will get the call in net for the Winnipeg Jets in their road game against the Ottawa Senators Monday night.

Jets head coach Paul Maurice confirmed the move following Sunday’s practice, a revelation borne out of a question about starting goalie Connor Hellebuyck and how he’s been used this season. Hellebuyck, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, has been a workhorse for Winnipeg this year, leading all NHL goalies with 41 starts between the pipes.

Not only that, Hellebuyck has also faced the most shots against (1,221) and registered the most saves (1,114). But that doesn’t look all that impressive when you consider he’s won just a tad more than half his starts, with 21, and has allowed the most goals (107) in the league. His .912 save percentage is ranked 22nd and his 2.72 goals-against average is a miserable 30th, based on all goalies with at least 15 starts this season.

What’s more, while Hellebuyck’s numbers aren’t reflective solely of his play, with the players around him also playing a notable role, there’s no denying he’s struggled, particularly of late, including getting pulled early from the game twice in the last two weeks.

Maurice was asked if perhaps Hellebuyck’s workload was becoming too much, considering his sketchy play and the fact playoffs are just around the corner, with the Jets having just six regular-season games remaining on the schedule.

“If you talk to Connor Hellebuyck, he will tell you this is all about rhythm. And he has a certain number of games that he likes to get into. So when he missed a couple of periods here in this last week where I think he thought he was going to run five straight, which was what his idea was,” Maurice said. “So we’ve sat down, pulled a calendar out and said, ‘what do you think you need?’ LB is going to go (Monday) because that was our plan all along, and he’ll get that…that’s two days basically without a game, we’ll get to four days without a game, then you start to get to that threshold where he gets a little antsy and wants to get back in the net.

“So we have two plans. LB goes (Monday) and then we’ve talked about the idea of him possibly doing it again, depending on where Connor feels he’s at. This is a guy that he will tell you, he does not like getting out of the net too much. Clearly he’s a workhorse. It’s all mental for him. He’s physically strong every day. He likes to practice, doesn’t like morning skates, he wants to be in the net at game time. This is about a conversation that has happened daily and will continue to with the idea of getting him in the right rhythm to feel good.”

Brossoit, for his part, has been more than a serviceable backup plan. In nine starts, he’s 6-4-0, with a 2.39 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage. His last victory came against the Senators, where he made 27 saves in a 3-2 final.

LEADERS LEADING: Maurice made an interesting point when asked about the Jets current six-game losing streak, noting he’d be worried if guys seemed to be divided in the room.

The Jets coach denied such a possibility, suggesting quite the opposite.

“I truly believe there is a potentially great benefit for this. There really is. The focus on the group, in the room, how they’re moving together is right on,” Maurice said.

“You’re always watching for three-man meetings over in corners, the team is starting to split. The opposite is true. We had a good one today. They were hooting on each other. It was good. It was really good. I know the group is tight. They’re together. That’s phase one – we’re all in this together.”

Copp said a big part of that unity is the number of leaders on the team that goes beyond the letter-wearers in captain Blake Wheeler, centre Mark Scheifele and defenceman Josh Morrissey.

“To have five, eight, 10 guys that feel confident enough that they could even be wearing a letter, you know what I mean? It’s not always on Wheels, Scheif, or J-Mo to have a meeting or have to be the ones talking or have to be the ones to right the ship. It’s not all on them and I think that having the group that we’ve had here for a little while now where everyone feels comfortable in where they’re at is a huge part,” Copp said.

“And it’s ownership of the team, too. Everyone feels like they have a piece. When we win, everyone had a piece. And when we lose, everyone has a piece of the loss in them. They’re taking it to heart. That’s an important part of our team and that has come with experience and maturity. That’s something that we’re going to have to rely on down the stretch here.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton