{"id":8941,"date":"2017-04-20T10:00:54","date_gmt":"2017-04-20T14:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/?p=8941"},"modified":"2017-04-20T11:33:06","modified_gmt":"2017-04-20T15:33:06","slug":"jake-allen-leading-st-louis-blues-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2017\/04\/20\/jake-allen-leading-st-louis-blues-victory\/","title":{"rendered":"Jake Allen Leading the St. Louis Blues to Victory"},"content":{"rendered":"

During a three-game January road trip, the St. Louis Blues starting goalie, Jake Allen<\/a><\/b>, didn\u2019t make the trip <\/a>with the team. Then-head coach Ken Hitchcock asked Allen to stay home, while they called up Pheonix Copley<\/a><\/strong> from the AHL. The reasoning was Allen’s\u00a0lackluster performances prior to the trip. In his previous\u00a0five starts before\u00a0the road trip, Allen had only won one game. He let in a total of 21 goals throughout those five starts, including seven to the Washington Capitals.<\/p>\n

Being told to stay home was hard for Allen. He had become a father only a few days before the trip, and the team said that they thought time with his newborn would help him get out of the funk. Reassurance\u00a0and support from fans bombarded the 26-year-old Allen, and it slowly pulled him out of the funk. He went on a seven-game streak where he looked really good, going 5-2-0. The wins included a shutout against the Ottawa Senators. Allen struggled again towards the end of February with four-straight losses, but made up for it in March.<\/p>\n

Jake Allen<\/a> Leading the St. Louis Blues to Victory<\/h2>\n

He was on fire to end the season. His record in March was 8-1-2, and when\u00a0combining that with the four starts he had in April the record climbs to 11-2-2. In the overtime and shootout losses, Allen had 28\u00a0and 31\u00a0saves. Only once all month did he allow more than three goals in a start.<\/p>\n

After he pulled himself out of his slump, Allen was one of the best goalies statistically. A lot of this credit goes\u00a0to Martin Brodeur<\/a><\/b> and Ty Conklin<\/a><\/b>, who became the team\u2019s goalie coaches on February 1. Allen\u2019s already-elite skill, combined with the teachings of two experienced\u00a0goalies, has made Allen an unstoppable force through the last third of the season.\u00a0Allen came into the postseason on a two-game winning streak, and had looked good.<\/p>\n

The attention wasn\u2019t on Allen though, the re-acquisition of Vladimir Sobotka<\/a><\/b> and the success of Ivan Barbashev<\/a>\u00a0<\/b>shadowed Allen’s play. He\u00a0was in the background, and he fixed that in Game 1 of the series.<\/p>\n

Jake Allen Playoff Success<\/h3>\n

Game One<\/h3>\n

In the first game he had 51 saves, and had a shutout before Zach Parise<\/a><\/b> scored with 22 seconds left in the game. That didn\u2019t kill Allen\u2019s momentum though. He had 43 saves at the end of regulation, and he went on to save eight more shots in the overtime period. His 51-save outing headlined the NHL after the first day of playoffs, and even after all of the Game Ones were done. His performance was outstanding, and the main reason the Blues won the first game.<\/p>\n

Game\u00a0Two<\/h3>\n

Allen looked just as good in Game Two. He allowed one goal in that game as well. But the 23 other shots he saved were again all impressive saves. He again shut down the Minnesota Wild\u2019s offense, but this time with half the saves. Still, he was a force to be reckoned with in that game as well. He even made an impressive, behind-the-back pass in the midst of the game, when he went out to play the puck behind the net. It seemed as though there wasn’t much Allen couldn’t do that game, and it led to another Blues win.<\/p>\n

Game\u00a0Three<\/h3>\n

Game Three\u00a0was no different than the previous two. Even with two games, and 75 shots under the Wild\u2019s belt, they couldn’t beat Allen. They hammered him with 41 shots throughout the game, and Allen only let one by. The goal came from Charlie Coyle<\/a><\/b>, the first player besides Parise to score on Allen during the series. Again Allen was standing on his head this game. 40 saves later, the Blues had taken a 3-0 lead in the series. Many sports journalists admitted to being foolish for doubting the Blues, who were hot going into the playoffs. Some even called Allen a reincarnation of his goalie coach, Brodeur.<\/p>\n

Game Four<\/h3>\n

In Game Four, Allen was on the wrong side of the goalie duel. Both teams had 28 shots, but Allen allowed two, while his counterpart,\u00a0Devan Dubnyk<\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>shut out the Blues with the Wild’s season on the line. The opening goal of the game came from an Allen mistake, who passed the puck up the boards right to Coyle. He wired the puck in before Allen was in position. Brodeur still has to teach Allen that side of the goalie game.<\/p>\n

So Far<\/h3>\n

In four\u00a0games, Allen has faced 145 shots. And in four\u00a0games, he’s only let five\u00a0behind him. That’s an average of 35 saves per game, a feat that’s impressive on its own. He\u2019s been pivotal in the series for the Blues. Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau<\/a> has grown increasingly frustrated with Allen\u2019s spectacular play, presumably like the rest of his team.<\/p>\n

Looking Into Game\u00a0Five<\/h3>\n

After Game Three Boudreau said: \u201cIf you\u2019re looking for me to criticize our team, it\u2019s not going to happen. We were friggin\u2019 good tonight, and we didn\u2019t get the breaks.\u201d The explosion of emotion isn’t like Boudreau, and it showed the team\u2019s anger. He’s not wrong either. The Wild have done very well against the Blues so far. They\u2019re outshooting the Blues 145 to 107, and have held the Blues strong power play to only being 1\/11. It\u2019s clear that the Wild are outplaying the Blues, and that makes Allen’s play all the better. He\u2019s been bombarded with a load of smart shots every game, and has stopped all but five. He\u2019s become the key to the team\u2019s winning, and is okay with it. After Game One\u00a0he simply said that it\u2019s \u201chis job\u201d.<\/p>\n

If the Blues hope to win Game 5\u00a0on Saturday, and contest the next series against either the Nashville Predators or Chicago Blackhawks, they’ll have to relieve some of the weight on Allen\u2019s shoulders. Although Allen remains humble, it\u2019d be hard for any goalie to continuously deliver 40-50 saves a game. He received a two-day break after the team\u2019s win on Sunday, and gets another now,\u00a0and that might be enough for him for refuel and deliver yet another spectacular performance in net, and top the Wild for good.<\/p>\n

Main Photo.<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n