It is time for Connor Hellebuyck to put up or shut up about being a big-time performer in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
With their season on the line, Hellebuyck and the Winnipeg Jets stepped up to win Game 5 against the Dallas Stars by a score of 4-0, improving their home record to 6-1. Unfortunately for the Jets, Game 6 of the series is on the road. Winnipeg is 0-5 on the road during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Not only does the team look different, but the goaltender as well.
We all know how great Connor Hellebuyck is in the regular season. He will win his third Vezina trophy. going back-to-back after winning the Vezina last year. However, it does not matter what a team or goalie does in the regular season; it all comes down to the playoffs.
So, the Winnipeg Jets won the Presidents’ Trophy. They look nothing like the team that played on the road in the regular season. In addition, Hellebuyck also took home the William M. Jennings Trophy at the end of the regular season for giving up the fewest goals. That has not been the case in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It is so bizarre.
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If you look at the numbers, he should be getting it done on the road, along with his teammates. They were 26-15 on the road in the regular season, though they only had a +26 goal differential, scoring 136 goals and giving up 110 goals. But what he hasn’t shown, unlike in the regular season, is the ability to make that big save in the big moment of a game in the playoffs.
There is no doubt he has done it on home ice. He did it in Game 7 against the St. Louis Blues after giving up that Mathieu Joseph goal. But on the road, it is a different story. In the five road games, he has given up the first goal on the first shot four times. Hellebuyck can’t allow that to happen. His teammates can’t keep chasing the game. The first shot has to be stopped, like a first serve or first return in tennis, that has to go in.
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He has also allowed 11 goals from 30-plus feet and beyond. That is something Connor Hellebuyck doesn’t do. A Vezina Trophy-winning goalie does not do that. Now, some of the goals have been deflections, especially in the St. Louis series, where the Blues brought traffic to the crease of Hellebuyck. But some of these goals have been clean looks, too. Those are the goals that can’t go in.
Now, Hellebuyck can talk all he wants about how he studies goaltending. The one noticeable thing is that he goes down into his butterfly position way too early, giving shooters the top of the net to shoot at. There is a reason why these players are in the NHL, especially the elite shooters. They will find a way to get the puck into the net. But they score when they have a clean opening or the goalie gives them a space to look at.
Connor Hellebuyck is about 6 feet 4 inches tall, and on skates, he is about 6 feet 6 inches. He needs to play big and limit where the opposition shooters can put the puck. Hellebuyck is at his best when he plays big and aggressive. But on the road, he plays conservatively and deep in his net. That is not a good combination for the Jets.
Neither are the numbers. The Jets have lost nine straight road games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Their last road win was in Game 1 of Round 1 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Vegas Golden Knights. Connor Hellebuyck was outstanding.
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But since then, the Jets with Hellebuyck in net, lost on the road in Games 2 and 5 in 2023 to Vegas, both road games (Games 3 and 4) to the Colorado Avalanche in 2024, Games 3, 4, and 6 to the St. Louis Blues in Round 1 in 2025, and Games 3 and 4 in Round 2 against the Dallas Stars. In addition, Hellebuyck was pulled in all three games in the St. Louis series.
If you examine the numbers even further, you will notice one thing: his save percentage dips from home ice to the road. During the regular season, he had a .927 save percentage on home ice. However, on the road, it dropped to a .903 save percentage. That is a big difference.
This postseason, the numbers are ugly. The Jets are 0-5 and have been outscored 25-8, a differential of -17. Hellebuyck is 0-5 with a 5.84 goals-against average and a .793 save percentage. If you combine his home and road numbers, Hellebuyck has a 3.48 goals against average and a .851 save percentage. The Jets are where they are because of Hellebuyck’s play on home ice. He has a save percentage of .913 and a goals against average of 1.72.
Connor Hellebuyck has seemed like two different goalies in home and away games this postseason. To help compare his play, I created a couple of tables to show his performance splits
He has a total 2.65 GSAx at home and -11.28 GSAx when away, with 0 away starts with positive GSAx pic.twitter.com/NNHUXQFGVN
— EDL Analytics (@EDLAnalytics) May 16, 2025
While this is not all on Connor Hellebuyck, he needs to have a lifetime performance and change the narrative about his play in the playoffs. There is something to build on for him from his Games 3 and 4 performances in Dallas. But the Jets, especially Hellebuyck, can’t be rattled or mentally soft.
Head coach Scott Arniel has to get his players to believe and have the right mindset that, as they do on home ice, they can overcome anything to keep their season alive.
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For Connor Hellebuyck to get past his demons, he needs a legacy game on the road in Game 6 and outduel Jake Oettinger again for the Winnipeg Jets to force a Game 7 and have another game in front of their home crowd.
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