After his 31-save performance in the St. Louis Blues' 6-3 win in Game 4 Saturday night, Jake Allen will get the nod again for Game 5. The 25-year-old netminder will be making his second straight start in net after spelling Brian Elliott, who had essentially been the Blues' playoffs MVP to that point.
Head coach Ken Hitchcock wanted to see if he could get more out of the rest of the team by making a switch in net after the Blues went down 2-1 in their series against the San Jose Sharks. Maybe it was the goaltending switch, or maybe the rest of the team realized going down 3-1 in the Western Conference finals was likely curtains for their Stanley Cup hopes. Whatever the reason, the Blues played a better game in Game 4 and Hitchcock is not about to disrupt a winning formula.
Allen's start Saturday night was his first since April 3, as he had taken a backseat to Elliott who followed up his incredible regular-season performance with a strong showing in the playoffs. Having finally earned the No. 1 job, Elliott posted a .925 save percentage in 17 starts. He also went 9-8, sometimes having to have his best effort to even give the Blues a chance in games where they were getting outplayed.
Hitchcock noted during Sunday's media session that the team was not playing for Elliott, but relying on him. That was part of the motivation for the switch, to change the team's approach to the games. Again, it's hard to know if the goalie switch helped turn the Blues back on to their winning ways Saturday, but it's harder to argue with the results.
Allen did allow three goals in Game 4, but as Hitchcock noted in the postgame he viewed it as Allen only giving up one. He thought the Sharks second goal was "blatant interference" and did not have a challenge to use. The third goal was put in by Blues defenseman Joel Edmundson.
Over three appearances this postseason, Allen has racked up 110 minutes in the net. He's stopped 40 of the 43 shots he's faced. During the regular season, the younger netminder made 44 starts. He went 26-15-3 while posting a .920 save percentage, 2.35 goals-against average and six shutouts.
Over his entire postseason career, which includes six starts during last year's first-round exit, Allen has a 3-4 record, .911 save percentage and 2.05 goals-against average.
Hitchcock was definitely gambling with playing a goalie who hadn't started a game in nearly two months. It paid off and now he's ready to double down.
It's hard not to feel for Elliott who, even as his coach admitted, did nothing wrong to lose his job. That's especially true given Elliott's history with the Blues and in other stops over his NHL career. He's been passed over quite a bit and now he lost the net because of the way the players in front of him played.
With all of that said, when a trip to the Cup is on the line, feelings are going to have to take a back seat. Elliott is going to have to stay ready just in case his team needs him to come back and do what he's done for most of the rest of the postseason. Meanwhile, Hitchcock had good success with the decision the first time around. If the Blues don't play the way they did in Game 4, there probably will be another switch on the horizon.
Game 5 is set for 8 p.m. ET Monday in St. Louis.
