Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck faces Sharks in five hundredth profession begin

The Winnipeg Jets are off to a 3-0-0 start for the first time in franchise history, and a major reason for that is Connor Hellebuyck.

The 31-year-old Hellebuyck, who leads the NHL with a .976 save percentage (81 saves on 83 shots) this season, will make his 500th career NHL start on Hellebuyck Night on Friday when the Jets host the San Jose Sharks.

The first 5,000 fans entering Canada Life Centre, which will include the 20 millionth fan to watch the Jets play at the arena, will receive a souvenir Hellebuyck pennant. They also will get to view the hardware Hellebuyck won last season — the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the top goalie as voted by general managers, and the William M. Jennings Trophy, given to the goalie or goalies of the team that allows the fewest goals in the season.

“I was thinking about it (Wednesday night) when I heard that the trophies are going to be in town,” Hellebuyck told the Winnipeg Sun on Thursday. “I wanted to see them. I was thinking that many people probably don’t get a chance to touch it. I won (the Vezina in 2020) and I didn’t get to touch it the first time.”

Hellebuyck accepted the 2020 award virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, he got to put his hands on the 2024 Vezina in June when he accepted it in person at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas.

A fifth-round pick and the 130th overall selection in the 2012 draft, Hellebuyck is just the 23rd goalie to win the Vezina on multiple occasions. He is off to a good start in a bid for a repeat, shutting out the Edmonton Oilers 6-0 on 30 saves in the season opener and following that up with back-to-back 2-1 overtime wins over the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 11 and the Minnesota Wild on Sunday.

Kyle Connor scored 51 seconds into overtime to beat the Wild, and Mark Scheifele had a goal and an assist. Hellebuyck finished with 26 saves, and he has allowed two goals over 180:54 in three starts.

“We’re growing accustomed to him being so elite,” Winnipeg captain Adam Lowry said. “Sometimes it’s hard to describe his level of play, but at the same time, we’re pretty lucky that we get to witness his greatness every day in practice and also what he’s able to do in games.”

San Jose, winless in its first four games, will be playing the second half of a back-to-back set that began with a 4-2 loss at Chicago on Thursday.

The Sharks fell behind 3-0 in the first 21 minutes before Tyler Toffoli got San Jose on the board late in the second period with a tap-in of a pass by William Eklund. Jason Dickinson put the Blackhawks back up by three goals at 2:19 of the third period before Fabian Zetterlund finished the scoring with a deflection of Mikael Granlund’s shot.

Eklund and Granlund both finished with two assists. Toffoli has three goals in the first four games of the season.

“I don’t think the whole night was the way we can play,” Granlund said. “We can play way better. Obviously the start was really slow for us. It was a little bit better as the game went on, but at the same time, that’s not enough.”

San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky was asked what his team needs to do to pick up its first win on Friday.

“We’ve got to do everything better tomorrow, that’s for sure,” Warsofsky said.

–Field Level Media