Workhorse Hellebuyck worthy of praise

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This article was published 08/04/2023 (884 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Connor Hellebuyck has had much busier nights. There haven’t been too many more important ones when it comes to regular-season action, and the 2019-20 Vezina Trophy winner stood tall on a big stage Saturday.

His 32nd career shutout was a huge one for the Winnipeg Jets, allowing them to remain very much in control of their playoff hopes in a pivotal 2-0 victory over the Nashville Predators.

“Bucky,” Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers said, a big smile on his face as he began to speak about his teammate.

“He’s a guy that works extremely hard. He works hard for this team. He plays hard. He’s a pretty damn good goalie and we’re extremely lucky to have him. The way that he’s played for us all year and the last couple of years, but especially this year, is pretty impressive. Without him, we probably would have lost some games down the stretch that we had. He’s kept us in this fight.”

Jets centre Mark Scheifele, who scored his team-leading (and career-best) 40th goal of the year, went even further with his praise.

“Helly’s been awesome. He’s been a rock for us all year. He’s the only reason why we are where we are,” said Scheifele.

Hellebuyck has now appeared in an NHL-leading 62 games, including 11 straight starts as the Jets try to avoid a late-season collapse and hold on to a playoff spot that seemed like a lock a couple months ago.

The 29-year-old workhorse is likely to get the final three, until and unless Winnipeg can punch its playoff ticket. That would put him right near his career-high of 67, set during the 2017-18 season. Fortunately, the schedule down the stretch has been rather favourable.

“It’s nice when you have the days off that we’ve had, it makes it a lot easier,” said Scheifele.

“We’ve had a pretty tough schedule up until that San Jose game on the road where we got a couple days off. Nice to get rested, nice to get home in your own bed. I think tonight was an easier one for him, but when we needed him he made the big saves. Hopefully we can give him a few more easy ones.”

No question Nashville goalie Juuse Saros was much busier, with the Jets dominating play for large stretches. Hellebuyck still managed to turn aside all 28 shots he faced — with 15 of those coming in the third period as the Predators ramped up their urgency.

“That’s tough for a goaltender, not getting any shots. We were in their zone the whole second period. They had one chance off the rush in the second period,” said Jets coach Rick Bowness.

“Give him a lot of credit for his mental skills to stay focused and dialed in. Because you knew they were going to make that push in the third after we got the goal and he made some timely saves. That is tough for a goalie. You’re not getting any work.”

Hellebuyck should get some Vezina votes again this year, even if Boston’s Linus Ullmark is the runaway favourite to win. He’s got a 35-25-2 record with the Jets, including four shutouts, and a 2.53 goals-against average and .919 save percentage.

To put that in perspective, he went 29-27-10 last year with a 2.97 GAA and .910 save percentage.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg