Hellebuyck’s cool, calm demeanour rubbing off on teammates

There were some hectic moments for the Winnipeg Jets in Sunday’s 1-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks thanks to some sloppy play in the offensive and neutral zones.

The Canucks had at least four oddman rushes in the second and third periods, but to the Jets credit, they didn’t even record a shot on goal on any of them.

That was due to some composed play by the defencemen, particularly Toby Enstrom and Dmitry Kulikov, who both slid to take away passes on two-on-ones.

Defenceman Josh Morrissey said that composure starts with goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who has simply been outstanding this season.

“He’s just so calm in there,” Morrisey said. “He turns chances that could be a scramble or a frantic situation into an easy save, a whistle or great rebound control to the corner where nothing comes of it. He’s been huge for us. He allows us to handle some of those more frantic situations with some poise and that’s huge.”

Hellebuyck now has a 25-6-6 record, with a goals-against average of 2.29 and a save percentage of .926, along with four shutouts this season. He was named the NHL’s second star of the week Monday for his weekend performance.

Asked about the calmness in his game, Hellebuyck said it has always been there.

“I’ve always described my game that way,” he said. “I like to think I’m a calm goalie. I like to have things around me at ease. I think that helps the team and I like to stick to it.”