WCR1: St. Louis Blues (W2) vs Winnipeg Jets (C1) - JETS WIN 4-3

[Finger Cookin]

Like how this series is trending.

[Roof-Daddy]

I'm kinda pissed at the blues right now for their horse #### 12 game win streak out of nowhere to knock the Flames out of the playoffs on a friggin tie breaker, but I am 100% anti Canadian team unless its the flames when it comes to playoff success so the blues taking out the jets would be ok by me I guess.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

I'm kinda pissed at the blues right now for their horse #### 12 game win streak out of nowhere to knock the Flames out of the playoffs on a friggin tie breaker, but I am 100% anti Canadian team unless its the flames when it comes to playoff success so the blues taking out the jets would be ok by me I guess.

I like your spite! Never underestimate the power of spite.

Carry on good sir!

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by Locke

I like your spite! Never underestimate the power of spite.

Carry on good sir!

Yes it's a tough one, I have a lot of spite for both teams right now.

[TheIronMaiden]

When the Blues were on game 6 of their winning streak a put some money at good odds for them to win the Cup. Call me a bandwagoner.

[Erick Estrada]

I can't remember a goaltender who was so good in the regular season, struggle so much in the playoffs like Hellebuyck. There have been other goaltenders that struggle in the playoffs but this is the most extreme I can remember. He basically goes from best goaltender in the league to below average starter the moment the season transitions from regular season to playoffs. It has to be mental or something as for whatever reason he's just not the same guy.

[cheevers]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

When the Blues were on game 6 of their winning streak a put some money at good odds for them to win the Cup. Call me a bandwagoner.

Ha weren't you in the other thread saying anyone bringing up politics should be suspended? Speaking of things people really don't give a #### about...

[PepsiFree]

Anyone talking about betting on hockey or their playoff pool should be banned permanently and have a virus sent to their home and work computer, but two different ones so the same fix can’t be used on both.

And I hope their phone battery dies.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by cheevers

Ha weren't you in the other thread saying anyone bringing up politics should be suspended? Speaking of things people really don't give a #### about...

Politics vs stating a reason to have a rooting interest in a team...that's a pretty big difference. Seems like a reach to settle a grudge.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Anyone talking about betting on hockey or their playoff pool should be banned permanently and have a virus sent to their home and work computer, but two different ones so the same fix can’t be used on both.

And I hope their phone battery dies.

You should be banned permanently.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I can't remember a goaltender who was so good in the regular season, struggle so much in the playoffs like Hellebuyck. There have been other goaltenders that struggle in the playoffs but this is the most extreme I can remember. He basically goes from best goaltender in the league to below average starter the moment the season transitions from regular season to playoffs. It has to be mental or something as for whatever reason he's just not the same guy.

I was thinking the same thing yesterday. Fleury had some playoff meltdowns in his career, but he won his first Cup in his fifth season in the league. I honestly can’t think of a Vezina-winning goalie who has struggled so much in the playoffs, let alone a multiple-Vezina goalie. If the Jets don’t pull this out of the fire, Helleybuck’s legacy will be one of the biggest playoff chokers in NHL history.

And where does that leave the Jets going forward? Do they consider moving him? Can they, with that contract?

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

You should be banned permanently.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

I was thinking the same thing yesterday. Fleury had some playoff meltdowns in his career, but he won his first Cup in his fifth season in the league. I honestly can’t think of a Vezina-winning goalie who has struggled so much in the playoffs, let alone a multiple-Vezina goalie. If the Jets don’t pull this out of the fire, Helleybuck’s legacy will be one of the biggest playoff chokers in NHL history.

And where does that leave the Jets going forward? Do they consider moving him? Can they, with that contract?

Yeah it's pretty interesting as if they can't get out of the first round after the regular season they just had, you have to wonder what's going to be different next year or the year after. Their key players are all now near or into their 30's and the window is getting close to half shut. The problem with trading him is that he's been so integral to their regular season success that without him, they probably fall back into the teams like the Flames, Blues, Canucks, etc that have to grind things out for the wildcard spots. Given how fickle that market is becoming with the attendance issues, I'm not sure they can afford to take a step back so I imagine they will just run things back next season and hope that it's the year they get over the hump.

Still series is tied so plenty of time for them to turn things around but Hellebuyck is going to have to sort things out quickly.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Yeah it's pretty interesting as if they can't get out of the first round after the regular season they just had, you have to wonder what's going to be different next year or the year after. Their key players are all now near or into their 30's and the window is getting close to half shut. The problem with trading him is that he's been so integral to their regular season success that without him, they probably fall back into the teams like the Flames, Blues, Canucks, etc that have to grind things out for the wildcard spots. Given how fickle that market is becoming with the attendance issues, I'm not sure they can afford to take a step back so I imagine they will just run things back next season and hope that it's the year they get over the hump.

Still series is tied so plenty of time for them to turn things around but Hellebuyck is going to have to sort things out quickly.

Bob was benched when they started that first run. He also came unglued in the 3 games in the finals last year. Only recent one I can think of.

[White Out 403]

I'm not ready to throw in the towel but it looks bleak. I'll worry about roster moves when the Jets are eliminated.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by White Out 403

I'm not ready to throw in the towel but it looks bleak. I'll worry about roster moves when the Jets are eliminated.

You will have plenty of towels to throw don't worry.

[dustygoon]

Originally Posted by White Out 403

I'm not ready to throw in the towel but it looks bleak. I'll worry about roster moves when the Jets are eliminated.

That's the spirit!

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

How can a goalie be that situationally bipolar (Helle)? Perplexing.

[sketchyt]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I can't remember a goaltender who was so good in the regular season, struggle so much in the playoffs like Hellebuyck. There have been other goaltenders that struggle in the playoffs but this is the most extreme I can remember. He basically goes from best goaltender in the league to below average starter the moment the season transitions from regular season to playoffs. It has to be mental or something as for whatever reason he's just not the same guy.

Putting on my beer league goaltending equipment on, here's my going theory:
Hellebuyck is objectively one of the most technically proficient goalies in the league. To do this, he maximizes his size, play reading and nearly perfect positioning, but also requires a level of predictability in play to do it.

A lot of this predictability goes out the window in the playoffs with opposing players more likely to screen, crash the net, create scrambles, desperately shoot from weird angles, do nearly anything for an opportunity, etc... a lot of scenarios you can't necessarily plan for in practice.

Notably, guys like Luongo, Markstrom really struggle with this. They can't seem to find the puck when the play looks so different than the regular season.

Other goalies like Binnington and Kiprusoff (and Wolf?) seem to weirdly thrive off unpredictability. Maybe it's because they've never had that size to consistently rely on and were able to develop their puck tracking ability beyond that of Hellebuyck.

[GioforPM]

^ Binnington doesn't really have a standout PO record aside from his obviously great rookie effort.