Carter Brooks Winnipeg Jets Postgame Report Winnipeg Jets goaltender Laurent Brossoit is set to face the St. Louis Blues from Canada Life Centre on Tuesday night. It will be the 30-year-old's second start in a calendar week that has seen the Jets play just four times. It's not atypical to see Brossoit between the pipes, but it's just the thought of regular all-star and Vezina Trophy candidate Connor Hellebuyck sitting on the bench for a big, four-point divisional game that may have some concerned. Star winger Gabe Vilardi called Hellebuyck "the best goalie in the world" following Winnipeg's 4-3 overtime victory over the Arizona Coyotes. Nikolaj Ehlers has more often than not credited both Hellebuyck and Brossoit for their other-worldly performances in postgame media scrums. "I’ve said this a million times now, we’ve got two pretty good goalies, and they’re top class," Ehlers said back in early February. "We’re pretty fortunate with that.” The one key piece that seems to be elevated no matter whom is asked, is that the tandem of Hellebuyck and Brossoit is among the league's very best, if not the best. "He's played very well so he deserves to go back in there," head coach Rick Bowness said of Tuesday's tilt with St. Louis. "It's an important game tonight. He's played a couple of important games this year and he deserves it with his play." Jets players and coaches know it, and the opposition is also very aware. Take their numbers, for instance. Their near-identical numbers, that is. Hellebuyck is 28-11-3 with three shutouts, a 2.21 goals against average and a .925 save percentage in his 42 starts this season. Brossoit is 8-4-2 on the year with a 2.28 goals against average and a .920 save percentage in 14 starts. No, Brossoit's sample size is much smaller than that of the team's starter, but he has been able to nearly replicate Hellebuyck's numbers on nights the club's No. 1 needs a break. Sure, if it were up to Hellebuyck himself, he would have 82 starts on the season. Entering 2023-24, things were a little unclear on Hellebuyck's future with Winnipeg. Brossoit was signed to a one-year, $1.75 million contract fresh off a Stanley Cup victory with the Vegas Golden Knights. And by all accounts, it appeared as though he very well may have been the long-term solution in net. But, when Hellebuyck and Mark Scheifele signed matching seven-year extensions on October 9, those questions all went by the wayside. "Again, what's coming up?" Bowness reminded. "We've got 16 games in March and those back-to-backs. We said right from training camp that we're going to try to reduce the workload on Bucky and we're doing that. LB's been playing very, very well and there's absolutely no reason that he shouldn't play in those games." Brossoit, who was drafted by Calgary but burst onto the scene with rival Edmonton, stayed with the Oilers until ultimately signing to be the presumed backup in Winnipeg following the Jets' lengthy postseason run of 2018. He stuck around until 2021, where he sought greener pastures in the desert. His gut instinct was right, and the 2011 fifth round draft pick took his twirl with the Stanley Cup last June. Now with a Stanley Cup and over $10 million to his name in estimated career earnings, Winnipeg's '1-B', LB, has once again found a home - a familiar home. “I’ve been in the league long enough to know what I need to do to prepare each game whether I can get into a rhythm and play every night or if I have some time in between," Brossoit said following his last start on February 20 - a win over the Minnesota Wild. Brossoit and Hellebuyck have the Jets sitting at No. 1 league-wide in team save percentage (.920), while Winnipeg remains second of 32 clubs with a .688 points percentage on the year. A significant factor in both of those stats is the team's reliability and trust in both starters - no matter how much time there is between games. "I have probably the most experience out of anyone in this league in having lots of time in between games. So, it’s something I’ve learned how to do lately, and so far this season I’ve been feeling great, feeling like I picked up where I left off last year after the first two games."
