Connor Hellebuyck's father sends a rallying message to Jets nation as Winnipeg advance to Stanley Cup playoffs Round 2

The Winnipeg Jets beat the St. Louis Blues 4-3 in Game 7 of the first round on Sunday to advance to the next round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They will now be facing the Dallas Stars in Round 2.

Following the game, Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck’s father Chuck penned a rallying message for Jets nation. He retweeted a posted from the Jets’ official X account and wrote in the caption:

“Way to go @NHLJets ! And a big Thank You to @680CJOB Paul Edmonds and Mitchell Clinton for giving us a play by play option to avoid the negativity. Keep the faith! Go @NHLJets !”

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The Blues jumped out to a 2-0 lead on the night just over seven minutes into the game. Cole Perfetti got the Jets on the board with a power-play tip-in at 11:41 of the second period but Radek Faksa restored the Blues’ two-goal lead with 34.1 seconds left in the second.

Vladislav Namestnikov cut the deficit to one with 1:17 left in regulation, scoring with the goalie pulled. Perfetti then tied the game with 2.6 seconds remaining as he redirected a Kyle Connor shot to force overtime.

After a scoreless first OT, Jets captain Adam Lowry deflected a point shot from Neal Pionk at 16:10 of double overtime to win the game. Connor Hellebuyck ended up stopping every shot after allowing three goals in the first two periods on the night.

Don Cherry tips Connor Hellebuyck over Leon Draisaitl and Nikita Kucherov in Heat Trophy race

On Saturday, Hockey analyst Don Cherry made his pick for this year’s NHL Hart Trophy and backed Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck over fellow finalists Leon Draisaitl and Nikita Kucherov. The Hart Trophy is awarded annually to the player judged most valuable to their team during the regular season.

Speaking on his Grapevine podcast, Cherry explained that Hellebuyck’s regular-season performance stood out above the rest. The Jets netminder led the NHL with 47 wins and finished with a 2.00 goals-against average, a .925 save percentage, and eight shutouts.

“Yeah, [Draisaitl] who scored 52 goals. He was the only player to have over 50 goals. Hellebuyck, who led goalies with 47 wins and the best average too. Kucherov, who led the league with 121 points,” said Cherry.

“I would pick Hellebuyck. Don't mention it in the playoffs,” he added.

While he has never won the Hart Trophy, Hellebuyck has secured two Vezina Trophies in 2020 and 2024 as the league’s top goaltender. Cherry clarified that he favored the impact and consistency Hellebuyck provided in net throughout the regular season for his team.

About the author

Anjum is an NHL reporter at Sportskeeda with over five years of professional experience in the spectator sports industry. Raised in Bahrain, Anjum grew up close to the Formula 1 and GP2 scene, but it was ice-sports that she truly had a chance to play at school.

Anjum prioritizes thorough research, fact-checking and verification of sources when reporting, and has worked for Oil on Whyte, Leafs Herald, the Nation of Blaugrana, Barca International Cules, FromTheBend, Last Word On Sports and NASA.

She got interested in ice hockey after watching the “MVP” trilogy as a second grader and has not gotten over the sport yet. Her favorite player is Alex Ovechkin, whose legendary one-timers live rent free in her heart. The iconic moment when Ovechkin reached 800 career goals with a hat trick in Chicago as the away crowd chanted “Ovi, Ovi” is probably her happiest memory from an ice-rink.

When not enjoying the game, Anjum can be found sailing, star-mapping or collaborating with fellow citizen scientists at NASA.

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Edited by Anjum Rajonno