Since Connor Hellebuyck joined the New Jersey Devils, he’s been rock solid and hasn’t missed a beat despite missing training camp. He’s 3-0 as a starter, allowing the Devils to move to 10-5 for the season. 

An elite goaltender changes the dynamics of a team and raises the ceiling. It also changes how the opponent plays, knowing they won’t find many easy goals. “He’s a big, solid goaltender who reads the play well. He’s athletic, all the things a goalie needs to be; he has it,” Edmonton Oilers forward Jason Dickinson noted after the 4-3 Devils win in a shootout. 

The Oilers were the first test for Hellebuyck. They entered the game with an offense that averaged 4.20 goals per game, and while they only generated 21 shots on net, they forced him to make plenty of difficult saves. The Oilers were also the first team this season to provide a blueprint for the rest of the league to beat Hellebuyck. 

Hellebuyck sees the initial shot and makes the easy saves. Moreover, he tracks the play and anticipates where the puck is going better than most goaltenders in the game. In short, he has the mind and the athletic ability to stop any offense. 

Opponents know it. “When you’ve got a good goalie, you’ve got to make it hard on him. I thought our first goal was exactly that,” Oilers head coach Mike Babcock stated after the game. The first goal saw the Oilers move the puck around in the offensive zone, and a cross-ice pass to defenseman Evan Bouchard allowed him to fire it to the back of the net as Hellebuyck was skating laterally. 

The Oilers tried to find open looks with Hellebuyck out of position, and similarly, they wanted to get into his sightlines and deflect pucks to the back of the net. “You gotta find ways to make him move a bit more than he wants to, get in his eyes to make him fight to see more pucks, and make his night harder for him,” Dickinson added. 

Hellebuyck thrives on reading the play, and when he can’t see it, it’s harder for him to do so. Likewise, the quick passing that sets up open looks and shots in the slot results in goals. Those are easier to find on the power play, which the Oilers did in the recent game, scoring two of their three goals on the man advantage. 

The Oilers have the second-best offense in the NHL and the talent to generate these open looks on the net. Not many teams do. Connor McDavid has 40 points in 16 games, and Evan Bouchard has nine goals as a defenseman. They not only open things up for the rest of the skaters on the ice, but they also find the back of the net themselves when needed. 

Even in a league where offense is trending up, with 22 teams averaging over three goals per game, few have the high-end talent to create these open looks. Hellebuyck not only can stop these teams but can take over games against them, making the Devils one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference and the NHL. 

The Devils are also a different team since Hellebuyck’s arrival. They’ve played with more energy and, more importantly, with more confidence on the defensive end, knowing the goaltender behind them can make the big save. 

“I think since Hellebuyck’s arrival, it's given the team an extra boost for sure, standing a little bit taller,” Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe stated after the win over the Oilers. The defense is playing Keefe’s system with more discipline and is working around Hellebuyck’s strengths, knowing he can make the easy saves. It allowed them to limit the Dallas Stars to one goal in a 5-1 win on Oct. 27 and halt the Vegas Golden Knights to two goals on Oct. 30, in Hellebuyck’s previous two starts. 

The Oilers played the type of game offensively that many teams in the playoffs do. They didn’t just pepper Hellebuyck with shots; they made the smart passes to generate scoring chances. 

In the playoffs, teams know Hellebuyck is one of the elite goaltenders and plan their game accordingly. They not only move the puck effectively; they also pick their targets, specifically, with top-shelf shots while Hellebuyck is moving. Bouchard scored his goal with a high slapshot to the far-side post, while McDavid scored in the shootout by putting the puck past the glove. 

Most teams in the playoffs have offenses that can generate these looks on the net. It’s why Hellebuyck, despite all of his regular-season success, has come up short in the playoffs, only reaching the conference final round once in his career. 

For the Devils, the key is playing the same defensively in front of Hellebuyck and limiting those chances. It’s not something they can achieve overnight, but it’s something they can work towards. With a long season ahead, it’s a task they will look to accomplish, allowing them to enter the playoffs prepared and ready for a run.