WINNIPEG —Connor Hellebuyck can be forgiven if he sees flying pucks in his sleep for a while.
The Winnipeg Jets goalie, a four-time finalist for the Vezina Trophy, voted as best at the position in the NHL, is not used to facing the type of offensive onslaught he and the Jets faced at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche, whose 6-3 victory Tuesday ousted Winnipeg in five games in the Western Conference First Round.
Hellebuyck, who was second in the NHL in wins (37), third in goals-against average (2.39, minimum 30 games played) and led in save percentage (.921, minimum 30 games played) during the regular season, had those numbers turned inside out by the Avalanche in the first round and described the result as “heartbreaking.”
Hellebuyck was 1-4 with a 5.23 GAA and .870 save percentage during the series, allowing at least four goals in each of the five games against Colorado.
“You’re probably not going to believe when I say, I was playing the best hockey of my career,” Hellebuyck said Thursday at the Jets’ end-of-season media availability. “But that’s truly how I was feeling. Not only was I playing some of my best hockey but I was in that zone where you’re not thinking, you’re just playing … To not be able to keep four goals off the board (in a single game) is heartbreaking. It really is heartbreaking.
“I mean, you’ve got to give them some kudos for what they did, but looking back, I don’t know if I even saw half of the pucks that went into the net. They did a great job, but for me to not be able to put my foot down even in a single game is really heartbreaking. It’s not typically how I do things.”
Hellebuyck, the 2020 Vezina winner and 2024 winner of the William M. Jennings Trophy after Winnipeg allowed a league-best 199 goals against (including shootout-deciding goals), said he needed a mental reset after being pulled following the second period of a 5-1 loss in Game 4.
“Specifically, Game 4 … I was laser-focused,” he said. “From the second I woke up I was ready to steal a game. And this kind of was my mindset going into every single game, but especially in Game 4. And when I got pulled (after allowing four goals on 30 shots) to give me more rest, it was like a flood of emotions I had suppressed all series long, and that was the realization that I can’t do this alone.
“And I’m not saying that I needed to do it alone. That was my mindset; I needed to do this alone. That was the realization; that I need to be part of this team more than I am and to not take everything onto my shoulders — and I’m talking me personally, that’s not me talking against the team — it’s just the way my mentality is, I’m trying to put everything on my shoulders. I don’t think that’s the right way to go about (the) playoffs anymore. I think what I need to do is just dive into a team-game even more, and that will hopefully bring me peace of mind.”
Winnipeg set a modern-era NHL record this season, allowing three goals or less in 34 consecutive games. That memory seemed very far away during this series.
“We’ve taken pride all year in our team game, that’s what carried us, and [Hellebuyck] was a big part of that team game,” Jets coach Rick Bowness said. “It’s an example of a player putting a lot of undue pressure on himself. That he had to make a difference. You get in the playoffs, and we’re watching hockey all of the time, there’s always a game in a playoff series where the team isn’t playing (well) and the goalie steals a game. I think that’s what he is referring to.
“The reason, and I explained after we pulled him in Game 4, we wanted to put a little more onus on the players, ‘OK, we’ve got to tighten this thing up here. We’re not going to rely on him every … game to keep us in there.’ … What matters now is we didn’t do it when it counts most, and that’s when he’s putting a lot of pressure on himself.”
Asked what it was like watching a Jennings-winning team perform the way it did against Colorado, Winnipeg general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said his team may not have taken the proper approach to the postseason.
“I guess it shows you that the playoffs are a different animal,” Cheveldayoff said. “You have to be prepared to try and play any different way to be successful. The other team has got talented players. Us sitting here saying it was all about us would be a disservice to what kind of great players and great team and well-coached and well-managed the organization that we matched up against (is).
“I think back, even when we talked when we made the trades at the (NHL) trade deadline: You’ve done nothing. Until you’re the team standing there at the end, you’ve done nothing. The onus is on everybody within the organization to be that 10 percent better.”
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
