The Winnipeg Jets are 8-2-2 on the road, leaving just 6 points on the table. But on the road, they’re just 5-5, which uh, isn’t good. But I might have a solution. MIGHT.
The Winnipeg Jets have a goalie that’s just 25, coming off of a second place Vezina finish and a NHL record for wins by an American born goaltender.
And they should play him less. A decent amount less, if you ask me. But not forever. Just for a bit. Connor Hellebuyck‘s confidence has to have waned a bit, and that’s okay. It happens to all of us.
His save percentage is close whether he’s at home or not, but everything else looks worse:
Home Helly: 9 GS, 6-2, .912%, 2.67 GAA, 5QS
Road Helly: 8 GS, 3-4, .907%, 3.21 GAA, 3QS
Now, let’s get this out of the way: The Jets as a team obviously play worse on the road than they do at home. It’s natural. But it hasn’t all been the defense.
The team has been fond of blowing third-period leads. That’s on everyone. Hellebuyck, the penalty killers, the forwards, the defense, the coach. The fans.
Hey, if I can give the Jets fans credit for making the team better at home, the away team’s fans get credit for making them worse on the road.
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The Jets just seem to lose momentum hanging onto leads. The either extend them to the point of mercy (See both Blues games, honestly) or they blow it. They don’t seem to ever hang on and grit their teeth.
You need that. You won’t be running away with games in the playoffs. Or against any good team, really. That’s why they blew leads to Edmonton and Tornoto (even at home) and Florida, Calgary and, most recently, Minnesota.
That’s entirely too many. That’s FIVE games the Jets had the lead in that they ended up losing. Just hanging on in two of those games puts the Jets in second in the division, firmly. Four of them? They’re in first.
These aren’t just one goal leads every time. Minnesota was 2-0 entering the third, then, bam, four goals on the board and a loss. Edmonton was 2-0 and 4-2 before Helly let in four in during the third period and overtime.
The Jets are good enough to stomach a slightly watered-down version of last year’s Connor Hellebuyck. That might very well have been the best year of his career, and that’s okay.
You can still expect him to be solidly above-average even if you do believe that. But those lost leads seem to have seeped into his memory. And probably the memories of the rest of the team.
But don’t worry, your boy has a plan.
So play Laurent Brossoit on the road. At least for a bit. Give everyone a breather. Let Hellebuyck start against the Pens and Blackhawks at home this week, sure.
Then a three game road trip starts through the New York tri-state area. Devils, Rangers and Isles. Let Helly start against the Devils, too, sure. But I want to see Laurent Brossoit against the Rangers.
If he plays well, I want him out there against the Isles, too. None of these teams are altogether frightening, but the Rangers are the best of the bunch.
Just give everyone a break and a chance to reset. Things get tough in the middle of December. I see Edmonton on the schedule twice, Tampa, Minnesota, San Jose and Calgary.
And yeah, they can stay afloat by beating Chicago three times before Christmas, and facing the Devils, Blues, Kings and Vancouver again next month. But I need to see this team beat someone worth beating.
And right now, nobody on the ice believes they can do it with Hellebuyck. And yeah, it’s not just his fault. But it’s happened too many times for anyone to have faith. They all are blowing it right now. It’s in their head.
I know Brossoit has just two road starts, and one was just mediocre (the St. Louis Blues did lose 8-4 though, and the game was never in question). Hey, timing matters. Allowing four goals when your team scores 8 is a lot better than doing it when they net three.
Connor Hellebuyck needs a mental reset. It’s a long season, there’s no reason for something to be in his head the way this seems to be. All I know for certain is that he cannot keep blowing leads. Simple as that.
This is the best idea I could come up with that could be implemented without anyone being immediately alarmed outside the organization. Like I’ve been saying, give Brossoit his Brosshot.
It’s not as though he’s undeserving, as he’s put up a .937 save percentage with a 2.05 GAA, against mostly B-level competition. Let’s see what he can do. Even if he takes his lumps, my priority is getting Hellebuyck right. He’s more important to the Jets than Brossoit.
But let’s worry about that if we have to.