Sometimes when things are going well for a hockey team, a punch to the gut is not the worst thing. It's a punch that can bring you back down to earth, force you to regroup and get back to what it was that made you successful in the first place.
That’s exactly what the Jets got Saturday in a 7-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens.
The Jets knew they needed to be better and then some, as coming off their loss in Montreal they we’re looking up at three straight games with the league leading Toronto Maple Leafs.
While it wasn’t the prettiest win, and far from perfect, the Jets did enough Tuesday to earn a 4-3 victory over the Maple Leafs.
Connor Hellebuyck had much to do with that. No surprise there, right?
"I’ve spent a lot of years in the league, with good men, decent goaltenders,” said Jets coach Paul Maurice. “But that guy (Hellebuyck) is in that elite level.”
The Jets spent a lot, and I mean a lot of time in their own end Tuesday as the Maple Leafs had 39 shots on goal and 69 shot attempts.
The Maple Leafs held the advantage in scoring chances (51-20) and high-danger scoring chances (24-6).
Hellebuyck was pulled from Saturday’s loss after allowing four goals on 19 goals, he knew he needed to bounce back on Tuesday.
It’s what he’s done all season long.
"I think you just use it for energy, really. I felt good in the last game, and I didn’t let that weigh on my brain at all. Sometimes the puck just doesn’t bounce your way,” said Hellebuyck. “After that game, I was just straight focused on the next one, and ready to get all my energy and show that I’m better than that.”
The Maple Leafs had every chance to take the game and run with it early in the contest, and then every chance to tie it in the third period. Some of the saves Hellebuyck made are worth watching again, especially the two he made on Mitch Marner in the final period.
"He was awesome. The game before, he gets pulled. You know what kind of Connor Hellebuyck you're going to get the next night. And you saw that he made a ton of big saves, especially late in the game,” said Mason Appleton. “He's so calm and composed back there. He's our rock and he wins a lot of hockey games for us. I thought he was incredible.”
Slowing down the high powered Maple Leafs is no easy task, doing so down a defenseman makes that task more difficult. The Jets survived a third period onslaught from the Leafs without Nathan Beaulieu who left the game in the second period after blocking a shot with his hand.
"He'll drop the gloves to stand up for a teammate, he's not getting out of the lane of a shot, and the price he paid for that is injuries that impact him personally. And then he's still willing to do that,” said Maurice.
“So there would be a really good example of why we value his character and the importance of him in our room. He's not going to generate a lot of offense but he's a valuable piece of what we do."
With Beaulieu out for weeks, Maurice has not yet decided if Logan Stanley or Sami Niku will come in to replace Beaulieu.
"It may mean that we're going to have to get some penalty killing out of that guy," said Maurice. "You've seen it for as long you've covered the team, we're usually five or six guys deep in terms of injuries on any given night. We consider ourselves fortunate to be at Game 25 and not have had to battle through that much this year."
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