Connor Hellebuyck and the Jets defence completely collapse in 8-5 loss

And by sitting out the first three exhibition games and instead observing from the bench, Winnipeg Jets' star goalie Connor Hellebuyck waited until the right moment to jump into his preseason debut. The right moment if you mean letting in eight goals.

Let's just say the game against the Minnesota Wild in St. Paul on Friday probably didn't exactly go as planned for the reigning Vezina Trophy winner. Just 92 seconds into the affair, a goal was allowed on the first shot Hellebuyck faced. It only got worse from there, as he was peppered by a relentless Wild offense, yielding seven more goals in a disastrous second period. By the time the final buzzer sounded, the Jets found themselves on the wrong end of an 8-5 decision.

This wasn't a completely surprising outcome since the Jets dressed a team featuring many of their younger prospects while resting a great deal of their regulars. What was surprising, however, was the game's sudden, drastic shift in momentum. Following a first period that was fairly even and ended 1-1, it became a blowout by the end of the second, with Minnesota up 8-2. It was a similar type of blowout loss nine years ago, when then-Jets coach Paul Maurice sarcastically said he was "honored" to be on the same ice as a dominant Wild team.

While Scott Arniel, the new head coach of the Jets, did not seem to be as frustrated as his predecessor, he has ample material to study now that the team must begin trimming its roster. The preseason record of Winnipeg now stands at 1-2-1, and this evening's game showed them clearly where the work is required.

For Hellebuyck, it's almost fortunate it happened in the pre-season. Shaking off a rough night now is better than a similar showing when the games mean a little more. He looked like he was out of position numerous times and just generally off-balance throughout the game. He was supposed to play all three periods, but after 40 minutes he was pulled after facing 29 shots and making 21 saves. Thomas Milic played the third period and stopped all six shots he saw.

Moving forward, with two preseason games remaining next week, Connor Hellebuyck is likely to see more ice as he works his way back into shape and irons out any lingering issues. And if anything, he'll no doubt want to prove that this really was just a minor hiccup on the path to another stellar season.