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DENVER – For Connor Hellebuyck, the confidence was never lacking, even during the up-and-down stretches of his first full season as an NHL starter.

Bumps along the road are expected for a guy playing the most demanding position on the ice, especially for one who lacks experience.

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But Hellebuyck was spending too much time in the butterfly position for a goalie of his size and there were times when he had trouble catching the puck.

Thanks to an important summer of training, Hellebuyck cleaned things up technically and also sharpened up his mental game.

There’s still plenty of confidence in his comments, but he’s acknowledging there’s still plenty of work to be done.

One of the biggest reasons the Jets find themselves in first place in the Central Division as the calendar flipped to 2018 is the outstanding play between the pipes from Hellebuyck.

That stretches beyond the sheer numbers for Hellebuyck, which are impressive nonetheless and include a 20-4-5 record, a 2.37 goals-against average and .923 save %.