![\"Connor](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/QL27OIDKEKQXL7OA2S46W5JUF4.jpg\")
Connor Hellebuyck and Team USA will face either Sweden or Latvia in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.Hassan Ammar\/Associated Press<\/p>\nMeanwhile, Hellebuyck is trying to erase doubts. Heading into the Games, the former UMass Lowell stopper was as much of a question mark as someone with his considerable accolades could be. <\/p>\n
He\u2019s a three-time Vezina winner, which puts him in the company of Hall of Famers: Only Patrick Roy (three), Martin Brodeur (four), and Dominik Hasek (six) have won it three times since it became a voted-on award, rather than one for fewest goals allowed, 44 years ago.<\/p>\n
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Hellebuyck has won the last two Vezinas, giving the Jets elite regular-season goaltending and helping them finish top-two in the Western Conference both years (including a franchise-first Presidents\u2019 Trophy last season). <\/p>\n
All of which makes his recent playoff struggles that much more puzzling. In the last three playoff runs, he has an .870 save percentage. The Jets have been out of the first round once: last year against the Blues, in which Hellebuyck was pulled from three of seven games.<\/p>\n
Connor Hellebuyck and Team USA will face either Sweden or Latvia in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.Hassan Ammar\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Standing in his full gear in front of reporters after the Americans closed the preliminary round Sunday with a 5-1 win over Germany, the 32-year-old was happy to relay some other stats. <\/p>\n
\u201cIs there more than a hundred percent?\u201d said Hellebuyck, who missed 12 games when he had arthroscopic surgery Nov. 22, when asked about his health. <\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I feel good. It\u2019s pretty hot out there. I\u2019m sweating a lot now that I have to stand around and do a bunch of this, so I\u2019m a bit chilly now. I guess I\u2019m at 99 percent right as we speak. But yeah, I feel good out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Team USA captain Auston Matthews said the Michigander\u2019s steadiness in net has the Americans feeling confident, as they gear up for Tuesday\u2019s quarterfinal against the winner of Monday\u2019s game between Sweden and Latvia. <\/p>\n
\u201cNever really seems like he\u2019s in a panic or anything,\u201d Matthews said of Hellebuyck. \u201cHe\u2019s just in such good position and that\u2019s why he\u2019s one of the best in the world. Obviously that\u2019s a guy that we\u2019ve got a lot of faith in back there.\u201d<\/p>\n
When he named Hellebuyck the starter for the Americans\u2019 preliminary-round opener against the Latvians, Sullivan was asked about giving Jeremy Swayman and Jake Oettinger starts of their own. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think the way we\u2019re going to approach it is, and this is just based on my own experience, that in tournaments like this \u2014 where things happen fast, they\u2019re not very long \u2014 performance really matters,\u201d Sullivan said. <\/p>\n
Hellebuyck\u2019s performance to date \u2014 17 stops on 18 shots against Latvia, 23 of 24 against Germany, and not a shaky moment in between \u2014 has him thinking about what\u2019s next. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the plan, that\u2019s the goal,\u201d he said. \u201cKeep building our game every day. Don\u2019t worry about what the other team brings. Just bring your game.\u201d<\/p>\n