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Goaltending Controversy: Jake Allen Starting Goalie Against Minnesota

By Kate Cimini

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St. Louis Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock told the press today that he had decided on a starting goalie in the Blues’ first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Wild…and it wasn’t Brian Elliott, who he had named starting goaltender a month ago.

Instead, second-string rookie goaltender Jake Allen will have the top spot come Thursday night.

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Both Allen and Elliott practiced today, but the Blues did not make Elliott available for comment after practice.

Elliott was considered the veteran goaltender starting the season, playing 46 games for the club throughout the season, the most he’s done with the St. Louis Blues in one season. He holds steady at a strong .917 save percentage over those 46 games, and has five shutouts to his name over the season. Elliott has also been championed as a hardworking team-player, not only coming back from his knee injury in December in just over four weeks, but giving up his beach vacation to attend the All-Star game as a last-minute invitee and represent the Blues in Columbus.

His performance however has not been what many had hoped it would be. Some fans were dissatisfied with the choice of Elliott as starting goaltender, citing Allen and Elliott’s similar save percentages and Allen’s recent hot streak, not to mention the way he stepped up and took on the role of starting goaltender when Elliott went down with a knee injury.

Allen not only dealt with an unsteady goaltending situation (adding in Martin Brodeur for two months) with aplomb but has consistently improved his gametime performance over the course of the season, finding his own goaltending style that is both mobile and fast.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Blues writer, Jeremy Rutherford, writes,

"Coach Ken Hitchcock said he followed his normal procedure for informing the goalies. He told goalie coach Jim Corsi on Wednesday morning, and then Corsi met with the goalies to tell them.“Both guys earned our healthy respect,” Hitchcock said. “We made the decision to go with Jake, so he’s going to play in Game 1.”“I’m looking forward to it,” Allen said amid a sea of reporters in the Blues dressing room at their practice facility. “It’ll be a good challenge. I’ve been working for this moment all year. To be able to get the start, it’s going to be huge. I know we’re all ready and excited to go. It feels like a long four-day break here.”"

This is not Allen’s first time in the cage during a playoffs game. Allen did play a little over a minute in goal in the 2012 playoffs, and allowed no goals (though to be fair he also faced no shots). But Hitchcock is riding the hot hand, as he has repeatedly said to media, and nothing, it appears, will sway him now.

Elliott has 18 appearances in his NHL playoffs career, and has an average save percentage of .898, though in his two seasons (2011-12 and 2012-13) with the Blues he comes in at .904 and .919 respectively.

Jake Allen may have been the surprise starter for the St. Louis Blues, but it will be exciting to see how his out-of-the-cage pressure holds up against the Minnesota Wild on the rush.

Goaltending has been the biggest controversy the Blues have seen this season and it appears that theme will continue on into the playoffs. We certainly hope Hitch has made the right choice on this one; the last time Allen won against the Wild he was facing down an entirely different team – one that was imploding for personal reasons as well as due to poor goaltending. Since acquiring Dubnyk the Minnesota Wild Allen was pulled from the only game he started against them after letting in two goals on 12 shots.

Next: St. Louis Blues Riding Wave For Cup Run

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