What happens to the Jets' player props without Connor Hellebuyck?
In the 33 regular-season games Winnipeg has played without Connor Hellebuyck since the start of 2025-26, 25 last season and all 8 this season, the Jets faced 28.67 shots a game (median 30) against 27.19 (median 27) in the 57 games he played, and their goalies allowed 3.06 goals a game against 2.88. Kyle Connor averaged 3.70 shots on goal without him and 3.32 with him; this season he has 4.62 a game. Stuart Skinner has started 5 of the 8 games this season and Clay Stevenson 3. Eight games this season is a small sample.
Connor Hellebuyck will not play for Winnipeg at St. Louis on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. The ESPN injury feed lists him on injured reserve, non-roster, in an entry dated October 2, 2026, with an expected return date of October 25; the entry’s comment reads only “ir-nr”. He has missed all eight of the Jets’ games this season, and he did not play in 25 more last season, so our NHL game logs hold 33 regular-season games without him since the start of 2025-26. Why he missed the 2025-26 games is not in our logs, so the cause of those absences is unknown here.
A game counts as with Hellebuyck when he played at least 12 minutes, a fifth of regulation. He played at least 54 minutes in every game he played but one: on April 11, 2026 against Philadelphia he played 40 minutes, allowed 5 goals on 20 shots, and Eric Comrie played the last 20, allowing 2 on 3. That game counts as with him. Last season’s games without him included a run of 12 from November 18 to December 11.
In goal: with Hellebuyck against without him
| Goalie | Starts | Saves a game (median) | Save % | Goals against a game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connor Hellebuyck, 2025-26 | 57 | 24.30 (24) | .895 | 2.84 |
| Eric Comrie, 2025-26 without him | 24 | 24.21 (25.5) | .892 | 2.92 |
| Stuart Skinner, 2026-27 | 5 | 26.80 (26) | .905 | 2.80 |
| Clay Stevenson, 2026-27 | 3 | 25.33 (30) | .894 | 3.00 |
Comrie’s average includes two starts he left after about 20 minutes, December 1 and December 6, 2025; in his 22 full starts he averaged 25.36 saves (median 27). Thomas Milic started the other game last season, with 30 saves on 34 shots.
As a team, the Jets faced 27.19 shots a game with Hellebuyck (median 27) and 28.67 without him (median 30), and their goalies allowed 2.88 goals a game with him against 3.06 without (median 3 in both). Their own shots barely moved, 26.39 a game with him and 26.33 without, and they scored 2.70 goals a game with him against 2.97 without (median 3 in both). Goals against here are the goals charged to the Jets’ goalies and team goals are the skaters’ goals in our logs, so empty-net goals against and shootout winners are not counted.
Since 2025-26: the skaters, with Hellebuyck against without him
| Player | Games with, without | Shots with (median) | Shots without (median) | Points with | Points without | Minutes with | Minutes without |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Connor | 57, 33 | 3.32 (3) | 3.70 (3) | 1.07 | 1.27 | 21.72 | 20.95 |
| Mark Scheifele | 57, 33 | 2.00 (2) | 2.27 (2) | 1.21 | 1.27 | 21.89 | 20.58 |
| Gabriel Vilardi | 57, 33 | 1.91 (2) | 1.67 (2) | 0.74 | 0.91 | 18.96 | 17.93 |
| Cole Perfetti | 46, 30 | 2.04 (2) | 2.10 (2) | 0.48 | 0.60 | 15.72 | 16.23 |
Shots are shots on goal and points are goals plus assists, both per game the player played.
This season, game by game
| Game | Goalie, saves on shots | Goals against | Jets shots, goals | Connor shots, points | Scheifele | Vilardi | Perfetti |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2 vs Boston | Skinner, 26 on 30 | 4 | 33, 3 | 9, 2 | 0, 0 | 1, 1 | 4, 1 |
| Oct 4 at Detroit | Skinner, 33 on 35 | 2 | 27, 3 | 5, 3 | 2, 0 | 2, 1 | 2, 3 |
| Oct 5 at Pittsburgh | Stevenson, 30 on 32 | 2 | 34, 3 | 6, 0 | 3, 0 | 3, 0 | 4, 1 |
| Oct 7 vs Colorado | Skinner, 32 on 34 | 2 | 19, 3 | 4, 2 | 1, 2 | 2, 0 | 2, 1 |
| Oct 9 vs Anaheim | Stevenson, 12 on 16 | 4 | 16, 1 | 3, 1 | 1, 1 | 2, 0 | 0, 0 |
| Oct 13 vs Minnesota | Skinner, 19 on 21 | 2 | 25, 5 | 3, 2 | 3, 3 | 0, 1 | 4, 2 |
| Oct 15 at Chicago | Skinner, 24 on 28 | 4 | 34, 3 | 5, 1 | 1, 1 | 2, 0 | 2, 0 |
| Oct 17 vs Carolina | Stevenson, 34 on 37 | 3 | 23, 2 | 2, 0 | 3, 1 | 2, 0 | 3, 0 |
The Jets have faced 29.12 shots a game this season (median 31). Connor has 4.62 shots a game (median 4.5) and 1.38 points, with 3 or more shots in 7 of the 8 games. Perfetti has played 18.43 minutes a game, up from 15.72 in the games with Hellebuyck, with 2.62 shots and 1.00 points a game. Scheifele has 1.75 shots and 1.00 points a game, and Vilardi 1.75 shots and 0.38 points.
What this can and cannot tell you
A goalie’s absence shows up first in goal: who starts, how many shots he faces and how many saves he makes. Here the Jets faced more shots without Hellebuyck, 28.67 a game against 27.19, and the goalies who replaced him stopped them at about his rate, .892 for Comrie last season against his .895. Connor shot more in both seasons without him, but a goalie does not take a forward’s shots, so that is a pattern in these games with the cause unknown. Last season’s 25 games without him were spread across the season, with one run of 12, and the eight this season, against eight opponents, are the only ones with this year’s goalies and lineup. None of it forecasts Tuesday’s game at St. Louis, and none of it says anything about prices.
Where to find these
When the Jets’ game is on the Lab board, open Skinner’s saves page, Stevenson’s, Connor’s shots on goal page, Scheifele’s and Perfetti’s for every game beside every result. What to read on a shots line is in stats for NHL shots on goal props, and the same question for a forward is in Ducks props without Troy Terry.
Source: our NHL game logs, regular season only, 2025-26 and 2026-27 through the Jets’ October 17, 2026 game. Hellebuyck’s status as listed on the ESPN injury feed, entry dated October 2, 2026, read October 19, 2026.
Quick answers
Who starts in goal for the Jets without Hellebuyck?
This season, Stuart Skinner has started 5 of the 8 games and Clay Stevenson 3. Skinner averaged 26.80 saves (median 26) at a .905 save percentage; Stevenson averaged 25.33 saves (median 30) at .894. Last season Eric Comrie started 24 of the 25 games Hellebuyck missed and Thomas Milic 1.
How many saves did Hellebuyck make a game?
24.30 a game (median 24) in his 57 regular-season games in 2025-26, on 27.14 shots against (median 27), at a .895 save percentage, with 2.84 goals against a game.
Do Kyle Connor's shots change without Hellebuyck?
They went up in these games. Connor averaged 3.70 shots on goal in the 33 games without Hellebuyck (median 3) against 3.32 (median 3) in the 57 with him, and reached 3 shots in 21 of the 33 against 35 of the 57. This season he has 4.62 a game across 8 games, with 3 or more in 7 of them. A goalie does not take a forward's shots, so the cause is unknown.
What about Mark Scheifele?
Across both seasons, 2.27 shots and 1.27 points a game in 33 games without Hellebuyck, against 2.00 shots and 1.21 points in 57 with him. This season he has 1.75 shots and 1.00 points a game across 8 games.
Does this tell me what will happen at St. Louis?
No. Thirty-three games across two seasons, four different starting goalies and two rosters describe what happened; they do not forecast Tuesday's game, and they say nothing about the prices.
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