The Connor Hellebuyck Effect: How the best stopper on the planet shifts the odds for Team USA
BOSTON, Massachusetts – Canada and USA will battle it out for Hockey Supremacy on Thursday evening in Boston. And while the hockey world prepares for a rematch of quite possibly the most entertaining and anticipated game in the last decade, it’s easy to stack the rosters side-by-side and analyze.
Offensively, you can probably give the edge to Canada. USA has some true-blue superstars on their team, but they are unable to match the pure speed and skill of Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Cale Makar (assuming Quinn Hughes doesn't run into the TD Gardens mid-game like a young Bobby Boucher showing up at halftime to drive the Mud Dogs to a Bourbon Bowl championship).
Defensively, things get a little murkier. Both teams have suffered losses on the blueline with Shea Theodore and Charlie McAvoy both out for this final match. Alex Pietrangelo was unable to join due to injury. Ditto for Quinn Hughes (maybe?).
Even still, we'll give this category to Team USA'. They have a more well-rounded group back there capable of generating offense and stifling opposing attempts.
Physicality? That's Team USA category and no one is going to questions it. Leadership and experience? Canada takes that one. You heard it the other day, Sidney Crosby walks on water for a reason.
And then there's Goaltending. Frankly, it’s not even close.
Having Connor Hellebuyck is a difference-maker. Pure and simple. He is the best goaltender in the world and is at the very peak of his game. That's saying something for a career that has already witnessed two Vezina trophies and two NHL 1st All-Star team nods. This season, among regular starters, he’s leading the NHL in save percentage. He led it last season too.
Oh, and his tenure with Team USA? It's impressive. An 11-1-0 record with two shutouts and a 0.942 save percentage.
“If he sees it, he's going to stop it." future Hall of Fame netminder, Jonathan Quick had to say of Hellebuyck.
The Winnipeg Jets netminder has career 0.917 save percentage across 550 NHL games. That sits top-10 in NHL history among goaltenders with at least 300 starts. It’s the fourth-best mark among American-born stoppers.
His current dominance is reminiscent of a prime Roberto Luongo. Back then you had to explore how a puck got past him. Not how he made a stop. During that prime, Luongo won two Olympic gold medals.
Hellebuyck is looking for his first championship at any level.
Canada doesn’t just have to outplay play the American offense. They need to be prepared to vastly outplay them to make up the difference in talent between their netminder and the one across the way.
They need to make life difficult for Hellebuyck.
“We definitely let (Hellebuyck) off the hook and made it too easy for him the last time we played him." Canadian forward, Sam Bennett had to say. "So I think that’s going to be a key for us on Thursday.”
Now, despite some leaky goals and a long stretches of sub-par metrics over the last several seasons, Jordan Binnington can pitch an epic game. He’s capable of it. He’s won a Cup final Game 7 in this building five years ago. He's gotten it done at the highest moment – something Hellebuyck has yet to accomplish.
Like any do-or-die game, it will come down to a lot of factors, but having the top netminder surely won't hurt Team USA's chances.
