‘He can show up in big games’

Adam Lowry has seen this film before — or a real-time version of it — on numerous occasions.

So, as goalie Connor Hellebuyck was being celebrated globally after his exceptional showing in the Olympic gold medal game, the captain of the Winnipeg Jets wasn’t the least bit surprised to see his longtime teammate shine in the biggest moment of his hockey career.

“We’ve been saying this for a few years now: we think he’s the best goalie in the world,” said Lowry. “Sometimes, he gets unfairly criticized for our team’s performance in the playoffs and I think he went out and showed that he can show up in big games and he can win you big games and that’s what we’ve grown accustomed to.

“We’ve been so fortunate to see his entire career here; sometimes I think we take it for granted how great he is, how easy he makes the game look.

“The biggest thing with him is he’s so calm, he’s so poised, he’s so big in the net,” Lowry continued. “But he reads the play so well that he needs to make these cross-ice saves on seam passes — he’s already read it, he’s there on his feet, he’s square. Then when he needs to make an otherworldly save, he seems to be able to reach back in his back pocket and scoop it off the line.”

The paddle save off Canadian defenceman Devon Toews was the latest highlight-reel special Hellebuyck provided early in the third period, but the bulk of the 41 stops he made were of the vintage variety.

“I mean, he stood on his head,” said Jets forward Nino Niederreiter, who suited up in the Olympics for Switzerland. “He was the Hellebuyck everybody knew, and it was good for him to be as great as he was in a big moment like that.”

Jets head coach Scott Arniel was cheering for his home country, but had a rooting interest in how Hellebuyck played as well.

“The biggest thing I was hoping for was that he was going to be at his best, then sort of let the chips fall where they may,” said Arniel. “We’ve seen it. Everyone in Winnipeg and Manitoba has seen this. When he gets on (a roll) like that, he almost gains more confidence as the game goes.

“He was a wall. He was outstanding and well deserving of that gold medal.”

Arniel was blown away by the talent that was on display as NHLers were involved in the Olympics for the first time since 2014.

“In my lifetime, I’ve gotten to see some great hockey games. All of the way back, I remember my school gymnasium, everybody watching that ’72 (Summit) Series. I know I’m aging myself but I remember watching those games,” said Arniel.

“That game (Sunday), that was right up there with one of the best again. When you’ve got best on best around the world playing, the whole tournament I thought was so exciting. The games were fast, highly skilled, and that one (on Sunday) hits a lot of people hard emotionally on both sides. But yeah. Special. That was a special game.”

As for the narrative that Hellebuyck hasn’t been able to deliver in the big moment, Sunday’s showing should help quiet the critics.

“Anytime the stats fall off just a little bit, people start asking, ‘What’s going on with Connor?’” said Lowry. “But I think it’s more a team thing, where it becomes what’s going on in front of him.

“His level of play very rarely drops off, even if a little. He showed up. Talking to buddies before the game, they were asking me who I thought was going to win and I just said, ‘It’s tough to bet against Helly. It’s tough to bet against the best goalie in the world.’”

Having someone like Hellebuyck on the roster as dialled in as he was during the Olympics is one of the reasons the Jets remain encouraged about the prospect of taking a shot at a playoff spot during the stretch drive.

“The confidence that he has in himself doesn’t waver,” said Lowry. “To know his game’s at an elite level at the world stage, I’d expect he can carry that over coming back to us.”

That sprint includes 26 games in 51 days, beginning on Wednesday against the Vancouver Canucks as the Jets open a three-game road trip that also includes tilts against the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks.

The Jets are currently 11 points behind the Ducks (who hold the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference) and they won’t have the benefit of easing into things coming out of the break.

“We all know what’s at stake,” said Niederreiter. “So, it’s game by game, as cliché as it sounds. But that’s all the mentality we’ve got to have. It’s playoff hockey from here on out, and we know the record we’ve got to be at to give ourselves a chance to get in.”

Arniel has referenced several recent examples of teams that rallied from a seemingly insurmountable deficit to make the playoffs, including the St. Louis Blues of last season.

That Blues team pushed the Jets to the limit before they were eliminated from the opening round matchup in double overtime on a goal from Lowry that was only possible because Winnipeg scored twice with the net empty in favour of an extra attacker in the waning moments of the seventh and deciding game.

“We’ve got to make a run here,” said Arniel. “Our schedule kind of lines up where we’re playing a lot of these teams that are just above us and in and around that area. It’s every other day. So, it’s going to be a grind.

“But it’s also something that if we can get on a roll like we saw some teams last year, we saw St. Louis do it, a team we played in the playoffs, the year before we saw Nashville do it. Some real great examples in our division. Just try to stay in the moment. Not worry about how big the hill is, we’ve got to just take our steps as we start to climb it.”

To that end, the Jets have spent much of the past week involved in a mini training camp, making a few tweaks to the system that they plan to break out later this week.

“You feel like you’re able to get back up to speed,” said Lowry. “It allows you to come back feeling your best going into that first game out of the (Olympic) break.”

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