‘Put your best foot forward’

CHICAGO — Connor Hellebuyck pulled up a chair in the lobby at the Blackhawks Ice Center with a calmness that is similar to when he stares down a shooter on a breakaway.

At a time when the pressure is ratcheting up around him in terms of the playoff chase in the Western Conference, the Winnipeg Jets starting netminder seems to be at peace and simply relishing the moment.

“It’s not like I didn’t have the confidence before (the Olympics),” the Milan Cortina Games men’s hockey gold medallist said on Monday afternoon. “I thought I was playing great before, but going there and being able to prove what I felt like I was playing like, it’s huge. I thought I was playing at a very high level and I went there and just continued to prove that and got better results.

“It’s fun. I feel like I’ve been playing playoff hockey since Feb. 11. So yeah, it’s stressful and I’m not going to be perfect every single night and I know that.”

As the Jets get set to continue a four-game road trip against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, they find themselves three points behind the Nashville Predators — while holding a game in hand.

Hellebuyck had an optimistic response when asked how the Jets have been able to reduce the deficit in the chase from 11 points to three.

“I feel like I’ve been playing playoff hockey since Feb. 11. So yeah, it’s stressful and I’m not going to be perfect every single night and I know that.”

“It’s one of those things where you can’t worry about trying to get back in,” said Hellebuyck. “You worry about yourself every single day and put your best foot forward and let the results happen. The more stress you build up on yourself and put on yourself, the more likely you are going to fail or run into some roadblock along the way.

“For me, I’m trying to be even-keeled, worry about myself and worry about stopping that puck as many times as I can and let everything else take care of itself.”

Hellebuyck — who has gone 4-4-2 in his last 10 games — is quick to recognize his numbers like save percentage (.899) and goals-against average (2.80) are down this season, but he doesn’t view that as cause for concern.

“I know this game is so results driven. All the media likes to talk about is the stats sheet and the results and you kind of have to, it’s sports,” he said.

“But as an athlete, there’s the results part of it and then there’s the, ‘How do you feel? How are you playing? How is your game?’ This part is what I care about.

“I feel like I’m at a very high level, so it’s nice to put some results with that.”

Hellebuyck is someone who prides himself on keeping fresh despite carrying a heavy workload. And the search to find the perfect balance is a complex equation that requires some tinkering.

“I do very much enjoy the management side of the game,” said Hellebuyck. “For me, it’s not just, you’re playing every single night, get your rest and play. There’s more to it. ‘When are we going to activate the muscles? When am I going to get a little (weight) lift in? When is rest more important, when is the morning skate important?’ All of that management is really fun to me because that’s where you can make small strides that actually make a big difference.

“I am a bit of an over thinker, so to have something else to think about and not nit pick my goalie game is kind of nice. My mind has got to be somewhere, so I might as well keep it task oriented.”

“I feel like I’m at a very high level, so it’s nice to put some results with that.”

Hellebuyck turned aside 21 of 23 shots in Saturday’s win over the Colorado Avalanche and he also expressed his frustration to officials during a stoppage in play after Ross Colton knocked him to the ice behind the net after the Jets goalie played the puck.

“On the slew foot? He said it was incidental contact. The guy took a route between me and the net,” said Hellebuyck, noting the contact was inevitable given the space between him and the net Colton tried to squeeze through. “I don’t think he was doing it on purpose, but he made a dumb decision on a route and that’s what penalties are. Most penalties are accidents. That’s a penalty in 99 per cent of games. I’ve seen it go against us multiple times, whether you like it or not. It is a penalty.

“They ended up getting a shot down main street and I don’t even know where my stick was.”

It was the second time in just over a week that an opponent made contact with Hellebuyck in and around his crease, the first coming in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins when Egor Chinakhov essentially cross-checked him after he was pushed by Jets defenceman Dylan Samberg.

“He did that on purpose. He took a bump this way and turned this way,” said Hellebuyck. “You can tell. He was falling, looked at me and then went like that (in a cross-checking motion). That one was for sure on purpose. I don’t know why. No one even blinked an eye at that.”

Hellebuyck understands that crease crashing is a common occurrence at this time of the year and that opponents are going to try to get in his face and under his skin.

He also realizes the importance of staying poised in intensity-filled environments.

“On the biggest stage in the world, you play as well as he did, you know what that does for your confidence,” said Jets centre Mark Scheifele, referencing his netminder’s Olympic win. “We’re so lucky to have him on our team. I think he’s the best goalie in the world and he showed it.”

And if opponents continue to see it during the majority of these final nine games, this group might just pull off a Stanley Cup playoff berth on a heater.

“He always had that belief, but sometimes you don’t really know you’ve got it until you do it — and he really did it in that gold medal game,” said Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo. “Obviously, he won the game for them and played fantastic. He’s been such a rock for us. We see it on a nightly basis. For him to do it on a stage like that and then get that recognition from everybody outside of Winnipeg, it was great to see.

“He is soaking it in, as he should. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to get that recognition. It’s well deserved. We get to see the confidence on a nightly basis, but it’s good to (have) everybody else see it as well.”

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