Jets believe in Hellebuyck to help upset Golden Knights in playoff matchup

Connor Hellebuyck doesn't think the Winnipeg Jets feel like underdogs as they head into the first round of the NHL playoffs against the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Jets battled to grab the final wild-card berth in the Western Conference and travel to play the top-seeded Golden Knights in Game 1 of the best-of-seven series on Tuesday.

"You can feel the belief in this room," Hellebuyck said after he skipped being in net for the team's optional skate Saturday. "Everyone is fighting hard for each other and believing in each other. When you have a team like that, anything is possible.

"And in playoffs, anything can happen. Just because we are the eighth seed, it doesn't mean that we're the worst. Anything can happen and that's the mindset we are taking into it."

The Jets were in first place in the conference in January, but sputtered after the all-star break. They finished the regular season 46-33-3 and went 5-2-0 in their past seven games to earn the playoff ticket.

Hellebuyck was a big reason for that successful run and his teammates have extra confidence knowing the 2020 Vezina Trophy winner is between the pipes.

"I think coming down the stretch, he played magnificent," forward Adam Lowry said. "He gave us a chance to win every night. He gave us a chance in tight games, where the offence was struggling or whatever.

"He gave us the opportunity to find our game. I think the way our team has looked the last couple weeks, we really like where we're at."

WATCH l Hellebuyck ranked 5th with .920 save percentage in regular season:

Hellebuyck started 13 straight games before David Rittich took his spot for Winnipeg's final 4-2 regular-season loss to Colorado. Hellebuyck finished with a league-leading 64 starts and a 37-25-2