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Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck was blunt about it in talking with Winnipeg reporters on Monday: He’s going to be better in Game 5 of the Blues-Jets series.

“You don’t love giving up that many goals but we’re 2-2 in the series,� he said. “That’s all that matters. Win the next one. Am I going to be better? I am going to be better. I’ve studied goaltending extremely hard. I’ve probably studied the most out of anyone in this world, so I know what to do and how to get my best game. So that’s what I’m looking forward to doing. I’ve got two days here. Time to bring it in Game 5.�

It’s a weird time for Hellebuyck, who has the worst goals-against average of any one to start four games this postseason, at 4.24 (more than double his regular-season number), and also has the worst save percentage (.817) and has, according to MoneyPuck, given up the most goals above expected, a whopping seven. In Games 3 and 4, he gave up 11 goals and was pulled from both. On Monday, he was announced as a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender, an award he’s expected to win.

“Honestly it’s a surprise in my world, too,� he said. “When I’m watching my game, there’s a certain way I need it to look and want it to look. And it would be crazy to go that many regular-season games and then all of a sudden switch something up in the playoffs. You don’t win 47 games and then come the playoffs (and) switch everything up. I know how it needs to look. I like a lot of things. I’m not going to go and make huge changes.

“That being said, I’m going to be better. That’s my job, and that’s the foot that I’m putting forward. I can’t be giving up this many goals. We’re a team in here, we’re not pointing fingers at anyone. We’re going to do this together. I keep saying it, we’re in a good spot, 2-2 in the series, pretty much the entire West is 2-2. I’m really looking forward to the next one. It’s on, it’s playoff-style hockey. It’s fun. This is what’s fun. You’ve got to weather those ups and downs, and it’s easy to say from the outside looking in that we’re down right now. But I don’t view it like that. Whatever happens, put it behind you and move on to the next one.�

“The first two games, our goaltending was better than theirs,� said Jets coach Scott Arniel. “Second two games, their goaltending was better than ours. Same, plain and simple. You know what? That's part of what a playoff series is all about. It's like our top players, our top offensive players, they got to be better than the opposition's top offensive players. Our grinders, our meat and potato guys, got to be better than their meat and potato guys. So this is a sort of, for me, a tale of two tapes. Game 1 and 2. I thought we owned those categories. Games 3 and 4, they own those categories.�

Hellebuyck acknowledged that the psychological side of the game figures largely in the playoffs.

“Yeah, I think playoff time, that’s one of the most important attributes you can have, is being strong between the ears,� he said. “You don’t want to go into a game playing with fear. If you play with fear, that’s when you start to actually make mistakes and want things back. We go out, we play our game and you continue to be better every single shift, every single game and every single day. That’s my mindset moving forward, and I’m looking forward to that.�

Blues call up three as Springfield season ends

The season ended for the Springfield (Massachusetts) Thunderbirds, the Blues’ AHL affiliate, with a 5-1 loss to Providence in Game 3 of their best-of-three playoff series on Sunday, which means it’s time for the Black Aces.

Black Aces is the name given to minor league callups by playoff teams so they have depth on hand for the postseason run, however long it lasts. The Blues on Monday called up goaltender Colten Ellis, forward Nikita Alexandrov and defenseman Corey Schueneman. The arrival of Ellis meant the Blues could send Will Cranley, who had been on hand as the third, emergency, goalie, back to Florida of ECHL, which swept its first-round playoff series and begins the division finals later this week.

Ellis had a 22-14-5 record and a 2.63 goals-against average for Springfield. He had a .922 save percentage, fourth-best in the AHL. This is his first NHL call-up. Alexandrov had 21 goals and 28 assists in 48 games for the Thunderbirds, and was second on the team in goals and points. He’s appeared in 51 NHL games, though none this year. Schueneman played in four games with the Blues this season and 35 in the NHL overall. He had four goals and 16 assists in the regular season in Springfield.

Not getting called in was center Dalibor Dvorsky, who might be headed with Slovakia for the world championships.