Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck moving on from Blues disaster before Stars series: ‘Who cares?’

The Winnipeg Jets were very fortunate and equally clutch to escape from their first-round series against the St. Louis Blues in Game 7. The Jets trailed by two goals with just two minutes remaining, but they improbably came back to tie the game and eventually won it 4-3 in overtime.

Now, the Presidents’ Trophy winners are getting ready for what should be a heated second-round series against the Dallas Stars. The two division rivals have been two of the best teams in the NHL all season long, so this should make for a very tight and dramatic series.

Jets star goalie Connor Hellebuyck was one of the biggest storylines in round one, but not for the right reasons. The Vezina Trophy finalist was benched in each of the Jets’ three losses — Games 3, 4 and 6 in St. Louis — and got off to a very poor start in Game 7 before steadying himself while Winnipeg made its comeback. Now, Hellebuyck is ready to move on and put those struggles behind him, via Tracey Myers of NHL.com.

“You know, I think there was definitely … I don’t want to call it an awakening, but there was definitely a moment there where I was able to take my game to another level,” Hellebuyck said. “And feeling that, it definitely gives you some momentum and some confidence going into the next round.

“That being said, we’re in some new territory that we haven’t been in in a little while. I’m really excited. It’s a restart for me. Who cares about what just happened? We got through it, and moving forward here I’m really excited to put my best foot forward and do my job.”

Hellebuyck should be able to draw some confidence from that Game 7 overtime win as the Jets head into this next series. During that game, he made 26 saves on 29 shots.

It will be interesting to see who has the physical edge in this series, as both teams are coming off of long, grueling seven-game battles. The Stars are fresh off of an incredible Game 7 comeback of their own against the Colorado Avalanche, so there will be some tired legs on the ice on Wednesday night.