‘Incredible’ Connor Hellebuyck Not Letting NHL Playoff Woes Get to Him in Olympics

MILAN — connor hellebuyck has given Team USA a clear goaltending edge at the Olympics, combining stingy numbers and a calm presence as the Americans prepare to face Canada for the gold medal Sunday.

Connor Hellebuyck’s Olympic form and numbers

The 32-year-old Michigan native is leading the Olympic tournament with a. 947 save percentage and a 1. 23 goals-against average. Five games into his first Olympic tournament he stopped 90 of the 95 shots he faced, and his 22-save performance against Slovakia on Friday night drew a rare grin after a string of steady stops.

From NHL struggles to international redemption

Hellebuyck’s NHL playoff résumé has been a persistent storyline: he played between the pipes for the Winnipeg Jets in seven of the past eight NHL postseasons, and the Jets failed to make it out of the first round — or qualifier — in four of those runs. He has a 1-9 record in his past 10 road playoff games dating back to 2021.

Statistically the contrast is stark: his. 917 save percentage from 2022 through this current NHL regular season led the league, but that number dropped to. 872 in the postseason over the same span. In the NHL, Hellebuyck hasn’t been able to rise to the occasion; one lasting image came in Game 6 of the Jets’ first-round playoff series against the Blues last year. He had already been pulled in Game 4, and after giving up five goals on 23 shots across 40 minutes of play — including four goals in 5: 23 — Hellebuyck was on the bench at the start of the third.

How the Olympics have reshaped the narrative

Since rejoining international play, the Michigan native has left little doubt as to who the top American goaltender is. Team USA will need that form to continue if it is going to top Canada for a gold medal Sunday. The tournament run has given Hellebuyck an opportunity to shift attention from his NHL postseason struggles to a new chapter on the international stage.

Teammates’ reactions and locker-room impact

Team-mates have repeatedly praised the calm Hellebuyck brings. Matthew Tkachuk called him "incredible, " noting that Hellebuyck has been exceptional year after year and has been a brick wall in this short tournament and at last year’s 4 Nations. Tkachuk highlighted Hellebuyck’s puck play, how shots seem to stick to him, and how steady he is; he singled out the confidence Hellebuyck gives the team and said the group is very excited to have him in goal for the gold-medal game.

Asked about his confidence level five games into the tournament — during which he stopped 90 of the 95 shots he faced — Hellebuyck cracked a smile and said, "Oh, all-time high, " after the 22-save night against Slovakia. After allowing a couple third-period goals in that blowout quarterfinal victory, he poked fun at himself and said he "got a little bored in there, and it cost me a goal, " a comment taken as evidence of how light he looks and presumably feels heading into the final.

Career context and what’s at stake

Hellebuyck’s résumé includes major individual honors: he is one of just 13 goalies in NHL history with three Vezina trophies, tying him with Patrick Roy, Glenn Hall and Tony Esposito. Just eight goalies have won the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player, and he is one of just three in this century to do so.

Yet it is Hellebuyck’s playoff failures that have dominated the narrative through his 11-year NHL career. This Olympic game has the magnitude to change that storyline: a gold here would be the first American Olympic men’s hockey gold since the Miracle on Ice, 46 years ago, and it would offer a new chapter for a goaltender trying to turn international success into a corrective to his postseason reputation.

What to watch in the gold-medal game

• Hellebuyck’s composure and rebound control in high-leverage moments.
• How Team USA defends traffic and limits second-chance chances that have troubled Hellebuyck in past NHL postseasons.
• Whether the tournament-level. 947 save percentage and 1. 23 GAA hold under the pressure of a gold-medal meeting with Canada.

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