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St. Louis Blues: Handing Out Team Trophies for 2016-17 Regular Season

By Joseph Schneider

Apr 9, 2017; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues celebrate after they defeated the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 9, 2017; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues celebrate after they defeated the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 27, 2017; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues goalie Jake Allen (34) makes a glove save against the Arizona Coyotes during the first period at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 27, 2017; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues goalie Jake Allen (34) makes a glove save against the Arizona Coyotes during the first period at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

Vezina – Jake Allen

(Second Half)

Basically a two-man race with Carter Hutton, there’s no doubt that Jake Allen‘s goaltending was more important in leading the Blues to playoffs down the stretch. With that said, his first season as the go-to goaltender had a fair share of ups and downs.

Following the Winter Classic, Allen fell into a January funk where he was winless over his last five starts of the month and pulled three times. Since Mike Yeo took over as head coach, along with NHL wins leader Martin Brodeur becoming a temporary goalie coach, Allen has prospered to a 22-12-4 record and a .938 save percentage.

The turnaround has resulted in stronger conditioning and a simpler hybrid approach controlling the net. Allen became the Blues’ first 30-game winner of the 21st century with over half of the victories coming in the last month. It also helps playing with a back-up goaltender in Hutton who has limited opponents to one goal or less in his five of his last seven starts.

Chance of NHL awards recognition

If the league split Vezina honors into two halves of the season, Allen’s post All-Star break performance could theoretically put him in contention. That’s not how the Vezina, or any of the other NHL trophies, work. Braden Holtby, Sergei Bobrovsky or Devan Dubnyk are logical choices for this year’s award, but don’t count Allen out in future selections if he can build off of his second half surge.

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