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This article was published 3/3/2015 (2027 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HE is now their preferred choice, having started four in a row and six of the last seven.

This is new ground for Winnipeg Jets goalie Michael Hutchinson, who said Monday the only thing new about it for him is the "wow" factor of the NHL has worn off for him.

Michael Hutchinson

"My confidence all along has been the exact same," said Hutchinson, 4-0-2 in his last six starts. "Since the start of the year it hasn't changed at all, even though I'm playing more. It's a lot of fun playing games. Nobody really likes to sit on the bench, so it's nice to get a few games in a row.

"You just feel more and more comfortable with the game speed and the teams and the opponents you're playing against, the more you play. Sometimes earlier in the year, you'd start to get a little bit nervous before the game. It's just a thing about the players on the other team, and that's gone now. You get over the star-struck aspect of coming into the league and realize that you sometimes get it in your head."

His confidence, he said, has developed quite a ways beyond just being a back-up who could be thrown to the wolves once every week or two.

"Just (focusing) on stopping the puck and that worked out well for me," Hutchinson said. "But now it's nice to kind of know I can play in this league and I can play against the top teams, too. It goes a long way just to be a little bit more relaxed in the net before games."

Hutchinson, 19-7-5 overall, with a 2.29 goals-against average and a save percentage of .919, said the increasing heat of the fight for playoff positions brings a whole new pressure, but it's one that doesn't require a whole new approach.

"You can drive yourself crazy looking at the standings every day and trying to figure things out," he said. "I'm just trying to not worry about the standings or what other teams are doing, to not overthink things and to keep the mindset I had at the start of the year, to take it one practice at a time and one game at a time.

"I'm just trying to help the team win. The worst thing you can do at this time of year is to overthink things, try to overthink things that are out of your control."

Monday, he credited some of his steady play to his teammates and their ability to scoring timely goals.

"I just know that I can just make one or two big saves to keep it either close or keep us in the lead," he said. "You're going to end up giving up scoring chances throughout a game. I've just tried to be ready for opportunities when they come and to bear down and make those saves.

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"I've been fortunate to make some key saves and then have guys score some key goals to help us out and win games."

And when things haven't gone exactly to plan, Hutchinson said goalie coach Wade Flaherty has been able to provide rational analysis as part of his support.

"It's all about going over video," Hutchinson said. "That Edmonton game a few weeks ago, I didn't have many shots and they were able to score four goals on limited shots. But we went over the game tape and they scored some good goals.

"Overall, my rebound control was really good and I saw the puck well and I was moving well. He does a good job keeping everything in perspective, so you don't start overthinking things.

"In that stretch where pucks were just going in, the goalies tend to start overthinking and micro-managing... and that can be the worst thing you can do. It's nice to have someone like Flats there to calm you down and be a second set of eyes."

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca