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WINNIPEG — Connor Hellebuyck’s back-to-back shutouts in Games 4 and 5 highlighted the Winnipeg Jets’ impressive opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in which they eliminated the Minnesota Wild in five games.

Now, as the Jets take some time to rest and prepare for the second round, Hellebuyck’s emergence as an elite goaltender has come clearly into focus, as well as Winnipeg’s overall defensive play.

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“Our team has been phenomenal this year. We’ve played such a good team defence,” said Hellebuyck on Sunday, as the Jets returned to the ice to prepare for a second-round series they later learned will pit them against the Nashville Predators.

“You can see the trust on the ice. You can see the defencemen, when they trust me to have the shot and they take the back door,” Hellebuyck said. “And when we have that trust in each other, it makes everyone so much better at their job.”

Photo by Kevin King / Postmedia Network

Coming off his matching pair of 30-save shutouts, and a recent nomination for the Vezina Trophy, the 24-year-old goaltender seems to be on an upward trajectory right as the Jets need him to be playing his best hockey. The confidence Hellebuyck has in himself, as well as for his teammates, has reached its highest point in his playing career.