Breaking down what’s wrong with Connor Hellebuyck in the playoffs

As the Winnipeg Jets enter Game 5 against the St. Louis Blues, there’s still plenty of uncertainty surrounding goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. He was pulled in back-to-back games, and after the two previous seasons saw him perform poorly in the playoffs, there is plenty of reason for the doubt surrounding his postseason play.

Carter Hutton joined Daily Faceoff Live to talk about Hellebuyck’s play and breakdown why he may be struggling in the playoffs.

Carter Hutton: It’s tough to break down. We’re talking about the best goalie on the planet right now. He’s been that way for so long. I don’t know if it’s a block, but for me, it’s just that he seems stale. He just seems like he doesn’t move as much as he does in the regular season. This is a guy that kind of undermoves to begin with.

But now, when I look at the playoffs, you eliminates\ all the fluff that goes on in the regular season where you have weaker opponents. Now we have all these teams that are playing good hockey and generating chances and getting to the net. And right now, it seems like he’s flat-footed. It seems that as soon as the play travels east to west, he’s a little bit lost.

And to go on with that mental side of it and what’s going on between his ears, there’s obviously the pressure of being one of those guys whose playoff success is holding him back from being on the Mount Rushmore of goaltenders.

So that being said, it’s not done yet. It’s still a 2-2 series, and it’s a best-of-three moving forward. If there’s a guy that can bounce back, it’s him. But it’s got to be a mental sigh here for the rest of the team knowing the way things have gone here with, in 10 of his last 14, he’s given up four or more goals, which is is not very Connor Hellebuyck-like that we’ve become used to.

You can watch the full episode here…