ANALYSIS: Winnipeg Jets don’t have to run Hellebuyck ragged to stay alive

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The Winnipeg Jets still have a pulse in the NHL West playoff race with 12 games to go after picking up three of six points on a difficult road trip.

But after another excellent start by Eric Comrie, the Jets don’t have to play the legs off Connor Hellebuyck to avoid “flat-lining.”

The last time the Jets desperately tried to stay in a playoff race was three years ago, when they had to go right down to the second-last game of the season before clinching the eighth and final post-season berth.

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Hellebuyck started 13 games in a row before getting a rest for a meaningless Game 82.

There is no way Hellebuyck will make that many consecutive starts this spring — because the Jets only have a dozen games remaining on the schedule.

And unlike the spring of 2023, when “Big Save” Dave Rittich could not provide reliable relief, this time around, Winnipeg has a backup goalie they can trust for games that matter in Comrie.

Now this is not to say head coach Scott Arniel and goalie guru Wade Flaherty are going to abandon the schedule they’ve mapped out for as long as the Jets remain relevant in what has turned out to be somewhat of a turtle derby for that final Western wild card berth.

But Comrie’s latest effort Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden, to extend a personal winning streak to six games, has to give the coaching staff something to think about. And Arniel did not discount that possibility in his post-game conversation with Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press.

Hellebucyk has allowed three or more goals in 11 of his last 16 starts, winning just five times over that stretch. Meanwhile, Comrie has a 1.48 goals-against average and .939 save percentage in his six consecutive wins.

Yes, Hellebuyck has a Hall of Fame pedigree, and for sure, he will always provide the Jets with a best-chance-to-win scenario.

But you know what? So will Comrie. And that just might count for something, especially with a remaining schedule of 12 games in 26 days, starting Tuesday night against Vegas.