Connor Hellebuyck and the Winnipeg Jets return home for a chance to flip the script on their recent playoff disappointments and the demons that have followed them into this spring.
The best-in-the-NHL-regular-season Jets host the Western Conference eighth-seeded St. Louis Blues in Game 7 of their back-and-forth series on Sunday night. It’s the final game of the first round, which Winnipeg has been knocked out in the previous two years and is in danger of happening again, with Hellebuyck again squarely in the spotlight after getting chased in all three of his team’s defeats.
“A one-game showdown: That’s what it is, not just Connor,” coach Scott Arniel said after losing Game 6 in St. Louis 5-2 on Friday. “It’s what we do as a group. … And you know what, I have a lot of confidence in our group, not just Helly. I have a lot of confidence in our group. You win one hockey game, you move onto the next round.”
Hellebuyck, likely the Vezina Trophy winner as the league’s top goaltender for a second consecutive season and third time in his career and a finalist for the Hart as MVP, has a 4.42 goals-against average and an .815 save percentage. He had some of the best numbers in the NHL in those categories during the regular season, 2.00 and .925.
The home/road difference has been stark. Hellebuyck and the Jets are 3-0 in the provincial capital of Manitoba, and he has allowed 2.33 goals a game with an .879 save percentage. South of the U.S.-Canada border in St. Louis, he’s allowing 7.24 a game with a .758 save percentage.
The good news for the Jets is they earned home ice in Game 7 with their stellar regular season, during which Hellebuyck was a big reason they finished atop the standings.
“I don’t need to talk about Bucky — Bucky has been phenomenal for us all year, and he’s continued to do that,” said forward Nikolaj Ehlers, who returned from injury to play in Game 6. “We’ve got to be better. We know when we play the right way, play well, making the right reads, we are a really good team, and we’ve shown that in this series.”
The Blues have also shown they can hang with Winnipeg, outscoring them 24-17 by winning in blowouts and losing close. None of that matters if they lose another tight one on the road.
“It’s what we’ve all dreamed of in that organization, in that locker room together,” said coach Jim Montgomery, whose arrival in late November fresh off being fired by Boston paved the way for the team’s turnaround. “It’s about us seizing an opportunity. It’s an opportunity that we’ve earned, and now we have to go seize it.”
Their goalie also has big-game experience — including recently against Hellebuyck on a gigantic stage. Jordan Binnington was brilliant in helping Canada beat Hellebuyck in the final of the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, and his performance in his last Game 7, in the final in 2019, delivered St. Louis its first Stanley Cup title.
“He’s our guy, he’s a special human and he gets up for big moments,” captain Brayden Schenn said.
Outside of the net, the Blues are led in scoring by Cam Fowler, who has already set the franchise record for points in a series by a defenseman with 10. Fowler, who has been a perfect fit since joining in a trade from Anaheim in December, thinks he and his teammates understand what they need to do to spring the series upset.
“We know the situation we’re walking into, the team we’re playing against, the season they had, and they play really well on home ice,” Fowler said. “Game 7, it’s a great opportunity for both teams, so we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
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AP freelance David Solomon in St. Louis contributed to this report.
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
