The Winnipeg Jets could use some good news. Something to turn things around after posting one of the worst records in the NHL since the start of November with just six wins.
Cue the potential return of their reigning Hart Trophy–winning goaltender, Connor Hellebuyck.
Jets head coach Scott Arniel wouldn’t reveal Saturday morning whether Hellebuyck would get the start tonight against the Washington Capitals at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, but he didn’t rule him out either. When Hellebuyck does return to game action, it will be his first appearance since a 4-3 shootout win against the Calgary Flames on Nov. 15.
“He’s looked sharp,” said Jets left winger Kyle Connor Saturday morning. “When you come back from injury, a lot of times it’s almost like restarting the season again like at training camp.”
Hellebuyck has been a full participant at team skates the past three days, continuing to increase his workload.
“You see those types of habits in him and how he mentally approaches the game and just taking shots, he looks great as ever,” added Connor.
It hasn’t been an easy road for the Jets since it was announced on Nov. 21 that Hellebuyck would miss four to six weeks with a knee injury, followed by surgery the very next day. The team has gone 2-8-1 in the time since the news broke, struggling to pick up points. Three of those losses have been by just one goal.
“If we’re going to give up those opportunities that we gave up tonight, he’d maybe make those saves, but at the end of the day, those are too big of moments at key times where we gave them opportunities, so we have to clean up our game no matter which goaltender is in there,” Arniel said following the team’s 6-3 loss to Boston on Thursday. “Obviously having him back is a big difference, but we’ve got to clean up our game.”
The signs pointing toward the return of Hellebuyck couldn’t come at a more important time for this group. Now sitting four spots from the bottom of the league standings in points with 29, the Jets remain four points out of a wild-card spot. It’s a tough place to be with some difficult opponents on the horizon including Colorado and Minnesota – two teams near the top of the Central Division.
“Individually we have guys, like me, that need to start playing better,” said Jets captain Adam Lowry in a conversation at his stall after practice on Friday.
“We’ve done it over the last several years, we’ve had success in the regular season… We have confidence as a team that we can right this ship and get things going in the right direction.”
Getting Hellebuyck back could be a huge push in that direction. Through 14 games played this season before injury, he’s averaging 2.51 goals against per game while sporting a .913 save percentage.
According to his teammates, it isn’t just the strong numbers he brings to the table.
“We talk about his play a lot, and that speaks for itself, but his energy in the room, he is a pretty talkative guy, always upbeat no matter how high or low we are as a group or individuals,” Cole Perfetti said after practice on Wednesday.
In the days since he returned to team skates, Hellebuyck has been an extremely vocal presence during practices and team skates. His energy is both visible and audible, and the confidence he gives his teammates on a nightly basis seems to spread throughout the room.
“He’s not on the highlight reel making these split saves because he reads the game so well, he’s already there, he’s on his feet, he’s square to the shot,” said Lowry. “The saves he makes look so routine when, in actuality, they are very tough.”
Hellebuyck has remained relatively healthy throughout his 11 years in the National Hockey League, playing a minimum of 60 games in each of the past four regular seasons. This Jets team hasn’t had to wonder what it would be like to lose someone of his calibre for an extended period.
“If you take [Connor] McDavid out of Edmonton, you take [Nathan] MacKinnon out of Colorado, you take some of these guys off of these teams, these players, it is a blow to your team,” said Arniel on Friday. “When that’s a goaltender, that’s obviously a whole different ballgame, so to have him back in the fold will be major for us in that sense.
“At the end of the day, when that happens, and hopefully the group in front of him recognizes it: We can’t give up those kinds of looks. We have to start being a lot better in our details and our structure and our play to get ourselves back in the mix.”
There are certain players who have the ability to be game breakers. Lowry believes Hellebuyck is one of those players.
“Well, he was the Hart Trophy winner… you could start with that,” joked Lowry. “Every team relies on their best player… What he means, the way he approaches games, the way he reads the play, he’s second to none.
“…His belief in himself never wavers, and as a goalie that’s huge.”
The Jets could use some of that belief as they get set for a battle with the Capitals on Saturday.
