Brian Elliott Pulls Himself From Game?

Brian Elliott seems to have pulled himself from the St. Louis Blues – Vancouver Canucks game with approximately 14 left in the third period. He skated off of his own accord after the Canucks wristed a fifth goal past Elliott, who subbed in for Jake Allen earlier in the game after Allen let in four goals in 21 shots.

FOX Sports Midwest analysts Pang and Kelly were unsure as to what had actually transpired, and hypothesized that Hitchcock had pulled Elliott.

According to social media sources, Elliott “had words” with Hitchcock after pulling himself from the game. Perhaps his frustration at being scored on boiled over towards his coach in a rare, uncharacteristic lapse? Maybe Elliott pulled something on while attempting to block that shot and decided to head off early and hop in a hot tub. Or perhaps the rumors of Hitchcock losing the room have some merit to them.

A number of social media accounts reported the same thing, as you can see below.

Whatever happened, this cannot be good news on trade deadline eve. Fans are already speculating that Elliott will land in another city due to what many are terming his tantrum. The Blues were able to tie the game up with Jake Allen in net, and went to a shootout after an uneventful overtime. The Blues lost in the shootout when the Canucks put three in a row behind Allen and Lack kept any and all contenders out of his net.

And just to put the cherry on the sundae…

Many on Twitter and Facebook are comparing Elliott’s abrupt departure from the ice to Patrick Roy’s famous storming off the ice in Montreal. Others are retaining some humor.

According to Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Allen did not expect to return to the game, and was “mentally drained by the situation.” This certainly doesn’t lead one to not panic, but it doesn’t mean fans should, either.

While we do not know yet exactly what has transpired with regards to Elliott, we will update as we gain more information.

Update: Rutherford tweeted the following upon Hitchcock talking with the media.

If what Hitchcock says is true, Elliott’s heated words take on a different tone. Perhaps he was arguing that he wanted to go back in the game, or even over whether pad thai or drunken noodles are better. (For the record, I’m a pad thai girl.) At the same time, we have to take Hitch’s words with a grain of salt. At this point in time, it does him no good to lose face in front of fans and the media, even if he’s lost it in front of his team. And it certainly won’t help the Blues move Elliott, if that is now on the table.

Considering Jake Allen’s interview right after the game where he said he felt “weird,” “odd” and “uncomfortable” with the situation…well, coaches tend not to put their players in situations where they feel they won’t be able to deliver. And deliver Allen did not. Check it out.

The long and the short of it is: there’s more to this story than we know just yet.

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