St. Louis Blues: Grading Blues Performances In December

Jake Allen: A

Jake Allen was nothing shy of sensational in December. He started 13 straight games in December. Mostly because the team had put Chad Johnson on waivers early on in the month, and the lack of back to backs on the schedule.

Highlighted by a 26 save shutout in Winnipeg, Allen was a true number one goalie for the St. Louis Blues and was a big reason why the Blues had a slight turnaround in December.

Over the past handful of seasons, the Blues have had the benefit of having quality backup goalies. Carter Hutton and Brian Elliot have had recent success in St. Louis has the backup to Allen but with Johnson being picked up by the Anaheim Ducks, St. Louis has not had the luxury.

Lucky for St. Louis, the Blues have not needed a backup because Allen has been stellar in net. The negative perception toward Allen has been directed at his inconsistent play, and for good reason. However, this stretch of games in December proves that Allen is more than capable of handling a starting job by himself.

Without Allen’s superb play, there is no telling where the Blues would be on January 1. While I do have some confidence in Jordan Binnington and Evan Fitzpatrick, they clearly are not yet on the same level as Allen.

It is important for Allen to continue this type of play, it is likely that his consecutive games started streak will come to an end soon, so the Blues will need to rely on Binnington to be solid in the crease.