No National Hockey League goaltender has played as many games this season as Connor Hellebuyck. Far from showing the slightest sign of fatigue, he has made the last 13 starts for the Winnipeg Jets.
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In his 64th game of the season, the 29-year-old made 33 saves in the 3-1 win over the Minnesota Wild to give the Jets a presence in Tuesday night’s playoffs.
“I think this match should give him that [trophée] Vézina said striker Mark Scheifele in the scrum. This game he played how he plays for us; He’s our most important player. We wouldn’t be here without him. He was great.”
Hellebuyck, who won the Vezina in 2019, has played 64 games in 2022-23.
The last game he wasn’t between the posts was the March 14 game against the Carolina Hurricanes. David Rittich was then in the net for that 5-3 loss.
“I was always prepared and ready when my name was called. We managed my workload well between parties. It feels good,” said the main prospect for this qualification.
The strength of the dressing room
The fact that the Jets were able to find the playoff schedule after being excluded for the first time in five years last season is mainly due to the strength of the players, Hellebuyck believes.
“I think we know what matters and what we have in this dressing room. I’m very excited after this meeting, it’s difficult to pull myself together at the moment, he joyfully admitted. I’m so excited and can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
Drafted second in the Western Conference, the Manitoba team expects quite a challenge in the first round. With seven wins in their last 10 games, the Jets don’t expect to make the playoffs.
“I have to give credit to the boys in the dressing room. We’ve been fighting hard lately to get back into the playoffs, Scheifele explained. Of course we would have liked to stay at the top, but it happens. Everything happens for a reason and we just have to trust the plan.”
Winnipeg will wrap up the regular game schedule Thursday with a game against the Colorado Avalanche, their potential first-round opponents.