Jets rebound against Sabres as Hellebuyck delivers vintage performance

BUFFALO - The off-nights have been few and far between for Connor Hellebuyck.

The responses to those games when the Winnipeg Jets netminder hasn’t been at his sharpest have been remarkable - and somewhat predictable.

Hellebuyck hates to give up goals.

Anytime and anywhere.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a playoff series or a practice, there’s rarely been a time when he didn’t think he could have - or should have - made the save.

So after giving up six goals on 22 shots on goal in a 7-5 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, one had the feeling that Hellebuyck was likely to play the role of the brick wall.

It wasn’t so much that Hellebuyck struggled against the Red Wings either.

They were opportunistic, essentially converting six times on 12 scoring chances, according to the internal stats the Jets keep.

That game was an outlier and the latest vintage performance from Hellebuyck included 39 saves in Thursday’s 4-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

He was big and boring, moving methodically in his crease as he tracked the puck.

His rebound control was fantastic and he was calm under pressure, even when he couldn’t find the puck after Josh Morrissey closed off a late wraparound attempt by Jeff Skinner that went up in the air behind Hellebuyck but didn’t make its way over the goal line.

“I haven’t thought about last game. I put it behind me,” said Hellebuyck. “This one, we came out and we all played hard. We got what we deserved.”

The main reason for that was because of the man behind the mask.

“It was a great performance. He's been great all year. I think he's been great ever since he got into this league and he just continues to show, even after a night like in Detroit, that his confidence never wavers,” said Jets sniper Kyle Connor. “He comes right back out and plays one of his best games of the year. I think he's just very mentally strong. He's able to put it behind him.

“Even from goal to goal, inside a game. I think, whether he lets a weak one in or one he wants back early in the game, I think he just puts it behind him and focuses on the next shot, the next play that he's able to stop.”

Sabres head coach Don Granato certainly appreciated Hellebuyck’s performance.

“Hellebuyck looked like a sumo wrestler with athleticism,” said Granato. “He was good. He was big and solid and we did have enough opportunity right down to the last one when they got their game-winning goal. We had two opportunities actually. So, it looked like we had a perfect chance to go up 3-2. And in 10 seconds, you know how that happens sometimes and it happened tonight.”

Offensively, Connor delivered his eighth game-winning goal of the season at 7:19 of the third period, forcing Rasmus Dahlin to turn the puck over to Nikolaj Ehlers before cruising in all alone and burying a beautiful deke.

“It's a function of the way we defend. They get it to the point, we want to stay in the shot lane first and foremost, and then come out there and close the gap on them,” said Connor, who is up to 21 goals and 53 points after collecting three points on Thursday. “We were able to force them to the backhand. He kind of made an errant pass. In that scenario, I'm taking off. I know Nik's finding me. That's kind of how it worked out.

“He was out pretty far. I just gave him kind of a little fake shot and he froze pretty good. Backhand, forehand, lost an edge, but I had him, so it worked out.”

The Jets close out a three-game road trip on Friday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, with David Rittich scheduled to make his 11th start of the campaign.

Much of the talk going into the game for the Jets was about getting back to the sound defensive structure that’s allowed them to be successful during the first half of the season.

This effort won’t qualify in that department as there were far too many times when the Jets were a bit casual with the puck and breakdowns led to multiple glorious chances, including a two-on-zero chance that the Sabres were unable to convert moments before Connor scored at the other end of the ice.

“It was a wild sequence. Self-inflicted,” said Jets head coach Rick Bowness. “It was a terrible play in the neutral zone. All we did there was feed the transition. When you turn it over like that, like we did, it’s usually a lot of confusion coming into the zone. So it started there. 

“Overall, listen, it’s an important win after the Detroit game. We played a whole lot better in Detroit and lost, than we did tonight. So it evened out. (The Sabres) outplayed us. That’s the most chances we’ve given up in a long time. Turnovers and poor coverage in our end. It evened out on this road trip, because we played a lot better in Detroit than we did (Thursday). We found a way to get that goal in the third. But we have to find a way to play smarter than that. There’s no sugarcoating it.”

With two more goals by defencemen on Thursday, the Jets eclipsed last season’s total - with 40 games remaining.

That’s an impressive total and reinforces Bowness’ belief that the Jets defence corps could contribute more offence while not playing in a reckless or careless fashion.

“It's awesome, yeah. Those guys have been phenomenal this year,” said Connor. “It's good to see those guys have a ton of confidence back there, making plays, and it makes our job way easier, too. When you've got that fourth d-man jumping up in the rush it's so much more dynamic than just 3-on-2. It's great. I think we're going to need that down the stretch as well and into the playoffs.”

One last thing about Hellebuyck.

Speaking for the first time since the NHL announced the first 32 All-Stars, Hellebuyck made it clear that he doesn’t prefer to have the weekend off.

He wants to participate for the second time in his career and is hopeful he’ll still be voted in to join Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey.

“Of course I do. I would love that,” said Hellebuyck. “My family would love it. We have a big bye week and it would be nice to break it up with that.

“I have no idea (how the vote is going), but it would be an honour to go. If not, that’s how it goes.”

With performances like this one added to a growing list of impressive showings, it’s impossible to argue that Hellebuyck doesn’t deserve to get the nod.