Hellebuyck hopes to continue making it look easy

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/03/2018 (2728 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If Connor Hellebuyck is on point, there will be no hint of excitement or nervous energy in his game during either the rush to, or the frenzy of, the NHL post-season.

The Winnipeg Jets goalie strives for no appreciable change to the manner in which he conducts himself between the pipes as the intensity level ramps up between now and what the team hopes is a long and prosperous playoff run.

In short, he’d take ordinary over the need to be outstanding any day.

“I think right now I’m bringing a high confidence to the rink. When I’m calm and relaxed, expect a boring game from me… yes, boring,” Hellebuyck, speaking over the week, offered with a smile. “When I’m not making anything look flashy, I’m doing my job. I’m trying to make it look easy.

“You want to be a goalie who almost doesn’t even react when a puck’s about to hit him, and I think that’s tracking at it’s finest. I have to make sure I’m on top of my details.”

Heading into Tuesday’s contest with the Boston Bruins, the last on a six-game home stand, Hellebuyck is third in the league in victories (39) behind only Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning (42) and the Nashville Predators’ Pekka Rinne (40), and is fourth in goals-against average (2.36) and fifth in save percentage (.924) among goalies with at least 40 starts.

Hellebuyck has posted a stellar 39-11-9 record in his second full NHL season. He was selected to participate in the all-star weekend two months ago, and his name has popped in the Vezina Trophy conversation, although Rinne and Vasilevskiy appear to be the favourites.

“It’s exciting hearing that. It’s everything I’ve been working toward,” he said. “I said it last year, I believe in myself and the guys in front of me are making it a whole lot easier for me. But just to know that I’ve done the right work and it’s kind of proving itself is very exciting. It’s a huge milestone in my career but I’m not going to stop until I achieve it.”

A flare for acrobatics hasn’t been a defining characteristic of the Jets’ 24-year-old starter during his breakout season.

While Hellebuyck’s numbers are, indeed, glitzy, his style of play won’t necessarily fill up a highlight reel with jaw-dropping saves. Only on the rarest of occasions does he need to hurl his 6-4, 207-pound frame across the crease to make a stop out of sheer desperation, like Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings or Rinne, a couple of world-class puck-stoppers, and there have been no behind-the-back glove snares, ala Vasilevskiy, either.

Hellebuyck chalks it up to the emphasis he and his off-season trainers place on biomechanics — how he moves as a netminder and what muscles he uses for his positioning. To most observers, his movements seem balanced and controlled, and he’s set and square to face down puck carriers during his solid 2017-18 season.

He said his confidence is at an all-time high, and it lifts him even when he’s off to a shaky start in a game.

“My goal during the off-season was to get back to my game, back to being confident. That’s how I was in the past,” said the former colleges standout at UMass Lowell and AHL all-star.

“I thought I showed a little bit of what I could do last year. My numbers don’t show how I played because I got pulled in some and that hurts your numbers. I had to learn though. You have to learn. We had a bunch of young guys and we had to develop that chemistry and now you’re seeing it.

“Patience is a virtue. I’ve been patient with my game. That’s key for trusting that I can do my job,” he added.

On Sunday night, for example, the product of Commerce, Mich., was putting in a performance that would best be described as passable through two periods against the Predators, giving up four goals on 23 shot. To the average viewer, one or two pucks probably shouldn’t have sneaked behind him.

But he was rock-solid in the final frame with the score deadlocked 4-4, stopping 13 shots, including a frenetic series about six minutes in, stopping a hard slapshot from Nick Bonino stationed to his left and then shifting across to prevent a wrap-around try from Colton Sissons. Later, he tracked a bouncing puck to the stick of Nashville’s 28-goal scorer Viktor Arvidsson, who unleashed a wrist shot straight into the gut of the well-positioned puck-stopper.

His finest save of the night came with less than 30 seconds remaining in regulation time when he put a pad down to stop a deflection of a point shot by veteran centre Mike Fisher, ensuring the contest went to overtime.

Mark Scheifele’s shootout goal lifted the Jets to a 5-4 victory to clinch a playoff spot. Hellebuyck did his job, successfully staring down Preds shooters Ryan Ellis, Kevin Fiala and Filip Forsberg.

Winnipeg defenceman Josh Morrissey said Hellebuyck’s at his best when the pressure gauge is cranked to high.

“Connor’s always been confident. He’s a confident guy, he comes to work every day and just does his job — and he’s been doing it very well,” said the second-year blue-liner. “The biggest thing with Helly in net, and a defenceman you feel it, is just how calm he is. Nothing seems to rattle him. With pucks around his feet he stays so calm, he’s kept his rebounds way down, he finds pucks and gets whistles. He’s really efficient and makes his game look easy.”

Hellebuyck conceded he’s experienced nothing in his career like the intensity of NHL playoff hockey. The Jets (46-19-10) are likely to face the Minnesota Wild in what would be a fiery battle between geographical and divisional rivals.

Hellebuyck has already had 59 starts and has appeared in a league-high 62 games this season. He’s logged the second-most minutes of any netminder (3,661:02), just under seven minutes shy of Sergei Bobrovsky of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Fatigue, Hellebuyck maintained, is a non-factor.

“I’m ready for a run. I got the right rest I needed and now my game is peaking and the guys in front of me are playing fantastic and making the game easy,” he said. “It’s nice to get a couple of days off and then it buys me a month. I want to be A++ and I don’t think my game strides too far from that. I want to bring my routine every single day, no matter practice or game, I want to feel the best I can.”

Head coach Paul Maurice gave backup Eric Comrie the start against the Los Angeles Kings last week, and the youngster will undoubtedly get some work — possibly a pair of opportunities — on the upcoming road trip that includes stops in Chicago, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

The Warm-Up

Winnipeg Jets Game Days

On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.

Sign up for The Warm-Up

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

But he’s mindful of ensuring his starter, who has won his last four and seven of his last 10, stays in a groove down the stretch.

“He’s played a lot of hockey, but when you (consider) travel and days off over the last three weeks, we’ve really cut back in terms of his workload. So, he feels strong and fresh,” said Maurice. “For us, we’re not as concerned with the minutes, it’s all about rhythm for him. And in this last stretch of games he wants to play, he doesn’t want to be out too long.

“But we’ll build some time off for him in there… it’s our job to make sure we keep him fresh going into the playoffs.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell