Jets' Hellebuyck allows five goals, pulled again

ST. LOUIS -- Connor Hellebuyck, a two-time Vezina Trophy winner who is among the favorites to win the award again this season, allowed five goals before being pulled on Sunday, as the top-seeded Winnipeg Jets fell to the St. Louis Blues, 5-1, evening their Western Conference first-round series at 2-2.

Hellebuyck has now been pulled in back-to-back games, and on St. Louis ice this series, he has allowed 11 goals and posted a paltry .744 save percentage. Eric Comrie made five saves in relief of Hellebuyck on Sunday, but the game had long been decided by that point.

His performances have not only energized the Blues, the No. 8 seed who lost the first two games of this series, but their fans, as well. On Sunday, in the third period, the St. Louis faithful chanted "We want Connor" as he sat on the Jets bench.

Brayden Schenn, Tyler Tucker and Justin Faulk each scored second-period goals against Hellebuyck, and later, Robert Thomas and Jake Neighbours added to the home team's total. Across the ice, St. Louis goaltender Jordan Binnington, who defeated Hellebuyck in the 4 Nations Face-Off final in February when Canada outlasted Team USA, made 30 saves in the win. The Blues have now won 14 straight regular season and playoff games at home dating back to Feb. 23.

"The last 10 minutes, we gave up three goals," Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said of the second period. "Those are coverage goals, and those are situations that we usually handle pretty well. They are finding ways to get that puck in the net."

Kyle Connor scored for the Jets, staking the road team to a 1-0 lead, but the powerful Winnipeg offense that helped the club to the Presidents' Trophy in the regular season, was never heard from again.

"This is obviously not what we wanted," Winnipeg forward Mark Scheifele said. "But it's a best two-of-three series now."

Hellebuyck has only been pulled in consecutive games one other time in his career, and given the Jets lost in Round 1 last season to the Colorado Avalanche, the Winnipeg goaltending situation figures to be a storyline the rest of this series.

"At the end of the day, you know what, they took advantage of home ice," Arniel said of the Blues. "We've put ourselves in this position. And our best players have to be better than their best players."

The Jets and Blues return to Winnipeg for Game 5 Wednesday night.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.