NHL analyst makes his thoughts crystal clear on Jets' Connor Hellebuyck being 'outplayed' by Stars' $66,000,000 goalie

Jake Oettinger has been outplaying Connor Hellebuyck in the second-round playoff series between Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets.

TSN reporter John Lu said that Oettinger '100%' outplayed Hellebuyck in Game 4. Dallas fans chanted “Otter’s better” during the game to show their support for Oettinger.

"100%, Jay," Lu said (0:20). "By my count, the Dallas fans serenaded Connor Hellebuyck with the "Otter's better" chant about six times tonight, after doing it four times in game three on Sunday. That is not subjective, that is absolutely objective. Look at the shots on goal, look at the final scoreboard."

"Jake Oettinger put on a clinic," Lu added.

Oettinger made 31 saves and played well in key moments. He stopped Kyle Connor on two clear chances, and both times, the Stars scored after.

"Three minutes left in the second period, he stops Kyle Connor point-blank, and exactly a minute later, Mikael Granlund scores on a two-on-one," Lu said.

"Five minutes into the third period, Oettinger stones Kyle Connor again, this time on a breakaway, and just over two minutes later, Granlund completes his hat trick on the power play."

Hellebuyck allowed three goals on 24 shots. He has now lost nine straight road playoff games. Lu mentioned that Granlund’s first goal may have deflected, but it was still a stoppable shot.

"Conversely, Connor Hellebuyck — that first goal he allowed, the power play goal by Mikael Granlund from long range ... but the shot was clean enough that Hellebuyck insinuated he should have had that," Lu said. "That was a goal that put the Jets behind... eight and a half minutes into the first period.

"So yes, absolutely, Oettinger outplayed Hellebuyck on this occasion." Lu added.

Oettinger has seemingly proved why he’s worth his eight-year, $66 million contract.

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Connor Hellebuyck is still focused on winning

The Winnipeg Jets are now on the brink of elimination. They will play Game 5 at home in Winnipeg on Thursday. Despite Hellebuyck’s struggles, the Jets are expected to stick with him.

After the Game 4 loss, Connor Hellebuyck told reporters that the team needs to focus on winning the upcoming game.

“Just win one game, leave it all out there,” Hellebuyck said. “I leave it all out there every night. I’m doing my best. Sometimes it’s a heartbreak, but all it takes is one little change, one little bounce and things can start going our way. We’re a good team, so we can really rack (the wins) up."

Granlund scored three goals against Hellebuyck to help Dallas take a 3-1 series lead.