Hellebuyck elite all the time Jets’ perennial Vezina candidate makes outstanding saves look routine By: Ken Wiebe Posted: 5:28 PM CST Friday, Dec. 15, 2023

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Connor Hellebuyck calls it a blessing and a curse.

The Winnipeg Jets all-world goalie took some time on Friday afternoon to talk about his craft, and when the time came to discuss one of his best qualities, Hellebuyck perked right up.

The topic of conversation was Hellebuyck’s ability to make difficult saves look routine, and the puck-stopper shared an interesting perspective as it relates to dissecting his season to date.

“I’ve been doing it for years now,” said Hellebuyck, who is set to face the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night to open a four-game homestand. “It’s a blessing and a curse. You make it look easy and then when something beats you, everyone is like, ‘Why didn’t you have it?’ Because everything is so easy, but it’s not.”

Several weeks ago, Hellebuyck said it’s been a bit of an adjustment for him this season since he’s not facing the same shot volume.

“It’s a blessing and a curse. You make it look easy and then when something beats you, everyone is like, ‘Why didn’t you have it?’ Because everything is so easy, but it’s not.”–Connor Hellebuyck

The adaptation process has accelerated and Hellebuyck is in the midst of a stretch that has included nine consecutive starts of allowing two goals or fewer, dating back to a Nov. 17 meeting against the Buffalo Sabres.

In that span, he’s allowed only 15 goals and recorded his first shutout of the campaign.

That’s a stark contrast from the 13 he surrendered during his first three starts.

The uneven play in the early going skewed the numbers and had Hellebuyck scratching his head a bit.

“Usually, I like to look because it’s a good indication of things — or you can use it as fire or I’m doing well, so keep doing it,” said Hellebuyck. “It’s another tool. But this year, after signing what could be my last deal, I was thinking, ‘What do numbers really matter anymore?’ It all comes down to wins.

“As time went on, I would peak (at the stats) every now and then and I would see .890 (save percentage) and be like, ‘This doesn’t make sense.’ Because I was watching my games and this looks exactly how I want it to look. It feels right, it looks right and the numbers aren’t right.”

Not wanting to compound things by placing additional pressure on himself, Hellebuyck ignored the numbers and stuck with his process, recognizing that, in time, things would get back to normal.

It turns out he was right and those pedestrian numbers are nothing but a distant memory.

Going into Saturday, Hellebuyck sports a record of 14-6-1, a 2.45 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage in 21 starts.

“It happened a lot faster than I thought it might,” said Hellebuyck, who has also worked his way up to the fifth spot in goals saved above expected (10.6), according to Money Puck.

There wasn’t an overhaul to his fundamentals, nor was there a change in his mindset.

So what’s different in Hellebuyck’s game right now?

“You don’t think, you just play and that’s what I’m kind of doing. I’m really focusing on playing right now.”–Connor Hellebuyck

“I talked earlier about the team stopping one more chance or eliminating the type of good chance it is and that’s what we’re doing. And that helps a ton,” he said. “And I’m getting my luck back. I’ve had a couple of stick saves, things have hit me on tips, it’s little things that go a long way. It’s a combination of a lot of things. I thought I was playing the same way early in the season, but now you get a few results under your belt and you’re comfortable in those tight games. It all comes together and that’s what happened.”

Hellebuyck is someone whose self-belief has never wavered and it’s part of what has allowed him to reside in the Vezina Trophy conversation for a good chunk of his NHL career.

He’s had numerous hot streaks before and he’s trying to ride this one as far as possible.

“You just feel on top of the world,” said Hellebuyck, asked to explain his mindset when he’s on a roll like this current one. “You don’t think, you just play and that’s what I’m kind of doing. I’m really focusing on playing right now.”

Although he loves to watch video as a teaching tool, Hellebuyck has cut back on that element of his studying this season.

“I’m realizing that as I’ve gotten older, things change and I have to change with the game and I’m realizing that with where I am in my career right now, I need to just play and just have fun,” said Hellebuyck. “If you look for problems, you’re going to find problems and I don’t want to do that. Just play and let everything else take care of itself. The team is playing great and I don’t want to put too much thought around what’s going on.”

Even with a team in front of him that has shown a clear commitment and dedication to being more structured defensively, Hellebuyck still plays the role of a security blanket and his teammates don’t take him for granted.

“He’s a battler, a really competitive guy who demands a lot out of himself,” said Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo, who suited up in his 500th NHL game on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings. “He expects his best at all times. He’s an absolute gamer. When the chips are down and the game is on the line, he’s the guy you want between the pipes.

“He makes a lot of tough saves look easy, that’s for sure.”

Jets head coach Rick Bowness has been around several top-notch goaltenders during his career behind an NHL bench, citing Roberto Luongo (with the Vancouver Canucks) and Andrei Vasilevskiy (with the Tampa Bay Lightning) as examples before being around Hellebuyck for the past season and change.

Let’s just say there are certain traits that are apparent in each of those elite netminders.

“He expects his best at all times. He’s an absolute gamer. When the chips are down and the game is on the line, he’s the guy you want between the pipes.”–Defenceman Dylan DeMelo

“They have tremendous work ethic in practice and preparation. They are ready to go. They don’t get rattled,” said Bowness. “They’re all very, very confident people. Very confident in their skills and just as important as any of that, they want to be in the net. No matter what, they want the ball.

“So, Louie was the same, Vasi was the same, Helly is the same. They work their butt off, they’re well prepared every day and again, if they give up a bad goal, it doesn’t rattle them. They get ready for the next one. Again, they want the ball, they want to be in the net and I love that about them all.”

As a coach, when you don’t have many concerns about the level of goaltending being provided on a daily basis, that is a nice way to reduce your stress levels.

“Listen, there is not a team in this league that’s going to win without great goaltending,” said Bowness. “Every team that goes on a streak, are they getting great goaltending? Yeah, it’s the biggest part of the game. There’s not a Stanley Cup champion team that doesn’t get great goaltending.

“It all starts with that. You have to have great goaltending. The game is not black and white, it will never be a perfect game. Pucks are bouncing everywhere, you’re giving up scoring chances, the skill level of the guys, there are so many factors involved. When it all comes down to it, you need elite goaltending in this league to survive.”

That’s exactly what Hellebuyck has been providing for the Jets this season, even if he hasn’t been as busy — or needed to be as superhuman as in recent years.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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