The St. Louis Blues head into the All Star break with a sour taste in their mouth as the offense failed to show up for two straight games in Colorado and Chicago. While it’s of paramount importance that the offense gets off to a hot start, let’s focus in on the boys between the pipes.
Who should see the majority of starts in the second half of the season? Brian Elliott was recently named the NHL’s third star of the week. The Blues #2 all time leader in shutouts has started 20 games this season and ironically is still looking for his first shutout of the season. He stopped 36 shots in a 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on January 18th. Elliott followed up on this exceptional performance with another stellar outing against the Detroit Red Wings, making 29 saves on the way to a 2-1 win. Elliott also registered an eye-opening 40 saves in a tight 2-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. He then closed out the week with a 23 save performance against the Chicago Blackhawks in a 2-0 losing effort. Through 24 contests this year, the Newmarket, Ontario native posts a 10-6-5 record and a save percentage of .927. In eight of his last 10 January appearances, Elliott has been able to earn at least one point while posting a 5-2-3 record.
Jake Allen has seen the majority of starts during the first few months of the season. Allen currently is week-to-week with a knee injury, according to coach Ken Hitchcock. He has started 32 games for the Blue Notes and has appeared in 33 contests; the 25 year-old goaltender compiles a 18-10-3 record, complimented by five shutouts and a .924 save percentage.
As long as Allen is sidelined with that knee injury, there’s no telling that Elliott will be the starter. However, once Allen is all healed and ready for action, how Hitchcock manages the goalie conundrum will be quite interesting. If Elliott continues to be as effective as he was the week before the All Star break, does Hitchcock plug Allen right back into the crease when he’s healed and sit Elliott? Does Elliott still see the majority of starts for the remainder of the season even with a healthy Allen? Do the two spilt time again like we’re used to seeing? All of these issues will have to be addressed by Hitchcock once Allen’s knee injury subsides. It’ll be very interesting to see what Hitchcock does and how he handles this jam. For now, I’d expect Elliott to see the majority of starts even with a healthy Allen because you really can’t overtake Elliott’s performance in the games prior to the All Star break. Stay tuned to see what Hitchcock decides.
