Can Connor Hellebuyck tip the scales for the Winnipeg Jets to upset Vegas?
The Winnipeg Jets and Vegas Golden Knights are slated to go head-to-head tonight in Game 1 of their Western Conference quarterfinal playoff series.
It’ll be a rematch of the 2018 Western Conference Final, which saw the Jets win the first game before losing four in a row to cap off their longest playoff run in franchise history.
The Jets snuck into this year’s playoffs after nearly nosediving out of the race down the stretch. But if they can start off on the right foot on Tuesday, can goaltender Connor Hellebuyck elevate them past the heavily favored Golden Knights?
Daily Faceoff hockey analysts Frank Seravalli and Mike McKenna debated that very question on Tuesday’s edition of Daily Faceoff Live.
Frank Seravalli: Four more series kick off tonight, Mike, in night two of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and one of them is a trendy upset pick. The Winnipeg Jets, the 8-seed, going up against the 1-seed in the West, the Vegas Golden Knights. What do you make of this matchup? Are you on the Jets train, in terms of giving them a shot to beat the Golden Knights in Round 1?
Mike McKenna: Well, I’m a huge fan of Connor Hellebuyck, and everybody thinks that could easily be the big factor in this series, and it could. Connor Hellebuyck’s got a .921 save percentage in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he’s had a great season. For me, Frank, he should be one of the top five players up for the Hart in terms of how important he is for his team in Winnipeg. But, Vegas just has found ways to win all season long. The Jets have found ways to lose and be bad for long stretches. So, if you’re just hinging this on Hellebuyck, I don’t like it. Now, here’s the thing: Vegas, they don’t have a great power play, but they will have Mark Stone back for the power play. It’ll be better with him.
Where will this series be won? It’s going to be the neutral zone, because Vegas is one of the NHL’s better rush teams. Winnipeg isn’t great [with] giving up rush chances and with Hellebuyck’s lateral movement being his only weakness, that’s one thing that Vegas may be able to exploit. Vegas was 3–0–0 against Winnipeg in the regular season — now, it’s also been four months since they’ve played, Frank.
Watch the full episode here: