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FRANK GUNN \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Jets goaltender Eric Comrie is riding a six-game win streak and boasts a 1.50 goals-against average and a .943 save percentage since his last loss back on Jan. 1.<\/p>\n
If these truly are do-or-die days, with the team trying to navigate a razor-thin playoff race where even the slightest misstep could prove fatal, how can they not at least consider riding the hottest hand?<\/p>\n
And right now, without dispute, that\u2019s Comrie \u2014 not Hellebuyck.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought that was going to be question No. 1,\u201d Jets head coach Scott Arniel told the Free Press with a laugh following his team\u2019s 3-2 shootout victory on Sunday afternoon over the New York Rangers inside Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n
Guilty as charged. We had actually saved it for near the end of his post-game, wondering if Comrie\u2019s recent surge, coupled with his latest outing, is forcing the organization to re-think its goaltending plans.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n
On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n
\t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \u201cWe\u2019ll see. We\u2019re going to see how this plays,\u201d Arniel continued.<\/p>\n \u201cWe face two big teams at home here in Vegas and Colorado, so we\u2019ll play it out here. We\u2019ll look at it and see how we\u2019re lined up, making sure that both goaltenders are more than likely going to get an opportunity. We\u2019ve just got to make sure that they\u2019re both rested and healthy for the game that they play in.\u201d<\/p>\n Translation: the door appears to be at least slightly open. That\u2019s not to say it will be Comrie in net on Tuesday night when the Jets open a quick two-game homestand against the Golden Knights. But, at the very least, it\u2019s being considered \u2014 as it should be.<\/p>\n Winnipeg (29-29-12) enters play five points back of the Nashville Predators for the final Western Conference wild-card spot. Both teams have 12 regular-season games remaining. The Jets must also overtake the Los Angeles Kings (three points ahead), Seattle Kraken (one point ahead with a game in hand) and San Jose Sharks (tied with two games in hand).<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t JOHN WOODS \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, left, congratulates teammate Eric Comrie on his first NHL shutout after a game in 2022.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a difficult, borderline impossible task at this point, one that is going to require an incredible run. Think 11-1-0 or 10-2-0.<\/p>\n \u201cThe margin for error is slim,\u201d admitted captain Adam Lowry.<\/p>\n Fair or not, the goaltending position becomes magnified when the pressure ramps up. They are the last line of defence, after all.<\/p>\n This decision regarding who should start any given game at this point shouldn\u2019t be about contract status, salary, hockey history or ego. It should be about one thing: who gives us the best chance to win right here, right now?<\/p>\n The numbers don\u2019t lie.<\/p>\n Only one Winnipeg goaltender has put together a personal six-game winning streak this year. That would be Comrie, whose last loss came way back on Jan. 1. His numbers since that time are sizzling: a 6-0-0 record, 1.50 goals-against average and a .943 save percentage.<\/p>\n You can thank his wife, Haley, who tried to lift his spirits prior to his Jan. 9 game against the Kings by decorating his car with photos reminding him of what\u2019s important in life. Among the snapshots were his two children, along with one of a young Comrie dressed in his goalie equipment.<\/p>\n He hasn\u2019t lost since.<\/p>\n You can also thank Jets goalie coach Wade Flaherty, who suggested Comrie change up his mask and go with a plain white version following that New Year\u2019s Day outing in Toronto, where he gave up six goals, including a self-inflicted blunder late in the game that broke a tie.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t JESSICA LEE \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n Jets goalie coach Wade Flaherty, left, chats with Eric Comrie (centre) and Connor Hellebuyck during team practice in 2021.<\/p>\n He hasn\u2019t lost since.<\/p>\n Comrie\u2019s overall numbers might not jump off the page \u2014 22 starts (a career-high), a 12-9-1 record, 2.90 GAA and an .897 SV%. But dig a little deeper and you\u2019ll find this really is a tale of two seasons.<\/p>\n Ten of his starts came without the safety net of Hellebuyck, who was sidelined with a knee injury that required arthroscopic surgery. Comrie went 2-7-1 with a 3.71 GAA and a .874 SV%. He definitely struggled at times in an unfamiliar role, buckling under the increased workload.<\/p>\n \u201cThe margin for error is slim.\u201d<\/p>\n But in his other 12 games, where he truly was in his usual role as a backup making spot starts, Comrie is 10-2-0 with a 2.33 GAA and a .915 SV%. Those numbers would have him among the very best No. 2 netminders in the NHL.<\/p>\n Hellebuyck, meanwhile, hasn\u2019t looked much like his Hart and Vezina Trophy-winning self lately. He started three straight games last week, giving up 13 goals in the process. Several were ones you\u2019d normally expect him to stop. His save percentage in those outings was just .841.<\/p>\n The body language has been concerning, too. There have been times Hellebuyck has seemed slow to move, slow to react and slow to get up. There\u2019s also been more \u201cswimming\u201d in his crease, which you don\u2019t typically see from him. When Hellebuyck is at his best, he\u2019s big and boring.<\/p>\n Can it be fatigue? Unlike the majority of NHL goalies, the 32-year-old didn\u2019t get a three-week Olympic break to reset and recharge. He was in Milan last month, playing five pressure-cooker games for the United States \u2014 winning them all \u2014 and leading his team to a gold medal.<\/p>\n But since being back in Winnipeg\u2019s net, the results have been mixed.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t PHILIP G. PAVELY \/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets starting goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (right) has allowed 13 goals in the past three games. <\/p>\n Hellebuyck had started 11 of Winnipeg\u2019s previous 12 games prior to Comrie getting the call on Sunday afternoon. That has to take a toll, both physically and mentally.<\/p>\n Overall, Hellebuyck\u2019s numbers are far inferior to his career averages: a 2.85 GAA, his highest since the 2021-22 season \u2014 the last time the Jets missed the playoffs \u2014 and a .897 save percentage, by far the worst of his career.<\/p>\n Comrie has proven he\u2019s more than capable of pitching in, and the Jets at this point should be doing everything possible to make sure that happens.<\/p>\n Splitting the remaining 12 starts? That\u2019s not a bad idea.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a better one: win and you stay in. At this point, it\u2019s not about roles or resum\u00e9s, it\u2019s about survival. And if that creates a little goaltending controversy, so be it.<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/mikemcintyre<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Mike McIntyre Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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