And Hitch says he's going to ride the hot hand, per JR on Twitter. As long as Allen plays like he has been its the obvious choice IMO. Also, Steen, Tarasenko, and Bortuzzo all out tomorrow.

Allen is in an unbelievable zone. He is aggressively challenging shots like I've rarely seen goaltenders do. Hopefully, he doesn't get himself into trouble coming so far out of the crease.

Dude is making it look easy right now.

Sucks that Bortuzzo is out but no surprise Hitch is going with Allen.

Start Allen tomorrow and Hawks game and let Elliot have last game resting Allen for being starting goalie in playoffs.
This provided Allens play stays strong next 2 games.

I guess not much news on Bortuzzo? Day2day?

rudy4u51 wrote:I guess not much news on Bortuzzo? Day2day?

see the bort thread.

T.C. wrote:

rudy4u51 wrote:I guess not much news on Bortuzzo? Day2day?

see the bort thread.

Yeah...no...I should have just read stltoday first. It was a lazy question.

Allen absolutely deserves the starts right now. He's playing very well, and Elliott is crapping the bed. The only thing Allen needs to do is make some smarter choices on when and when not to play the puck, and that will come.

Hopefully Allen takes the reigns and keeps them, not because I don't think Elliott can get back on track, but because Allen is supposed to be the future, and it would be nice to finally see that happen.

I agree with going with the hot hand but I have to admit, I don't like this situation. Not because I root for either goalie over the other but because this type of situation typically doesn't lead to success in the playoffs IMO. The Blues goalie options right now are a kid that is currently hot but only has 1 minute of NHL playoff experience and a vet that seems to continuously get passed over whose confidence can't be that great right now.

Sure, it's possible Allen pulls a Roy and leads the Blues to a Cup as a rookie...but it isn't likely. And sure, it's possible that if/when Elliott regains the net that he's able to shrug off being passed over (again) and get hot and lead the Blues to the Cup but again, unlikely.

I hate to say it but I just can't really consider the Blues to be one of the top 2-3 favorites to win the Cup until they have an obvious "guy" as their starting goalie.

I like riding the Hot Hand as I stated in other posts here(but what do I know ) and Jake is definitely the Hot Hand now and especially after last night against Hawks and I hope it continues.Jake has played in AHL for 3 or 4 years before and last year in the AHL playoffs and he is now got,a few games experience in the NHL regular season now, so if he is hot down the stretch, play him and start him in the playoffs IMO.If he struggles,then go with Elliott. But I am wondering the same thing as Eddie Olczyk and Jermey Roenick said last night .They wonder or question in their minds with either Jake or Elliott are they good enough or strong enough to win in the playoffs.With Blues Goaltending the last few years,it seems to be roller coaster ride or a soap opera story.They have been Good at times and Bad at times and who knows what we will get.I just HOPE, it is on the up swing this year in the playoffs.Wheter its Allen or Elliott .I don't care who is in net when playoffs start, I just HOPE they play well and WIN !

STL fan in IA wrote:I agree with going with the hot hand but I have to admit, I don't like this situation. Not because I root for either goalie over the other but because this type of situation typically doesn't lead to success in the playoffs IMO. The Blues goalie options right now are a kid that is currently hot but only has 1 minute of NHL playoff experience and a vet that seems to continuously get passed over whose confidence can't be that great right now.

Sure, it's possible Allen pulls a Roy and leads the Blues to a Cup as a rookie...but it isn't likely. And sure, it's possible that if/when Elliott regains the net that he's able to shrug off being passed over (again) and get hot and lead the Blues to the Cup but again, unlikely.

I hate to say it but I just can't really consider the Blues to be one of the top 2-3 favorites to win the Cup until they have an obvious "guy" as their starting goalie.

I can't really disagree with anything here, but at some point I think Elliott has to take into consideration that his "backup" is outplaying him and decide he's not going to let that happen anymore. Frankly, if his confidence is shattered by being passed over again, and its to the point that he can't perform well when and if he is called upon then he probably doesn't have what it takes mentally to be "the guy" anyway. That part of Allen's game seems to have sharpened quite a bit recently, and I'm not sure he's going to be too eager to spit the bit.

I've openly rooted for Elliott to get his chance and to shine with it, and I think he has performed relatively well all year. Ultimately, he picked the wrong time to allow questions to creep into anyone's mind that he is the man. I just hope that when his time comes around again (and I believe it will before the month is over) he takes it and runs with it.

It's just a really difficult time to be switching horses. What happens if Allen falls apart the last two games of the season?
Hitch knows more than me, that's for sure, so I figure he has good reason.
It's just scary. I keep having visions of Roman Turek.

barnburner wrote:It's just a really difficult time to be switching horses. What happens if Allen falls apart the last two games of the season?
Hitch knows more than me, that's for sure, so I figure he has good reason.
It's just scary. I keep having visions of Roman Turek.

It's not ideal at all but there's really no one to blame here but Elliott for falling apart at the wrong time. Allen's got all the tools he's just got to get the experience, and there's only one way to get that. This doesn't remind me much of Turek as Roman was a 32 year old career backup when we turned the starter's job over to him. If anything Elliott has more in common with Turek than Allen.
My concerns about Elliott are that he's got the same holes in his game that he had when he arrived here. He still plays way too deep in the net and is one of the worst puck handlers in the league. He's cleaned up his consistency issues since arriving here but he's basically reached his ceiling while Allen is just beginning to ascend.

Looks like to me that is a nice way for Hitch to say that the roles have shifted.

My main concern with Allen has always been between his ears. Hopefully he doesn't collapse under the pressure, because I think that is what has happened to Elliott

I'm hestentitly optimistic here. Kid has done good, and if there is a time to see if he can 'handle the limelight' now would be it. If he falters, go back to Elliott, who is used to playing back door man and 2nd fiddle.

Curious. Did the Doors have a 2nd fiddle playing on "Back door man"

bradleygt89 wrote:I'm hestentitly optimistic here. Kid has done good, and if there is a time to see if he can 'handle the limelight' now would be it. If he falters, go back to Elliott, who is used to playing back door man and 2nd fiddle.

Curious. Did the Doors have a 2nd fiddle playing on "Back door man"

The men don't know, but the little girls understand...

I'm fine with riding the hot hand, but I think the real danger is if we choose a different goaltender over Elliott AGAIN, and that goalie craps the bed, where will Elliott's confidence be? This organization has a history of stapling him to the bench, despite his stellar record. Like MissouriMook said, Elliott "picked the wrong time to allow questions to creep into anyone's mind that he is the man." (Who said no one reads your posts!? )

I didn't see/hear it, but my buddy was saying Corey Hirsch was on (not sure if it was TV or radio) and he was saying that the Blues have never trusted Elliott, that they're always looking for someone else kind of thing. He also tweeted that Jake is "the real deal," so hopefully he's right. One thing though that I've noticed is he just looks so confident and its a complete contrast to how Ells looks right now. I think that's huge going into the postseason.

People do complain about his poor record in playoffs, but (and yes this was a long time ago) he did lead Canada to the U18 gold medal and was named the tourney MVP. I know we imploded in the gold medal game of the WJC that one year, but he did help Canada get to the gold medal game.

Just another example of how the Blues don't trust Elliott.

Hopefully Allen runs with this opportunity or we're all doomed.

I like Elliot ok but to me he is a exceptional back up and glad to have him on the team but where has he,Halak or Miller done for us when it counted in the playoffs?
I think you give the reins to Allen and don't look back. He is our future.
Start Elliot and 1st time a soft goal happens and we know it will and costs us a game in playoffs SOS will start.
What choice do we really have?

These final games are like playoff games, so it's quite possible they are letting Jake get some experience in games that matter while letting Elliott get some rest. Unlike Nashville and Minnesota, we can be going into the playoffs with a rested netminder.

I really hope it's something as simple as that because I dread the thought of going into the playoffs with goalie controversy again. <sigh>

barnburner wrote:It's just a really difficult time to be switching horses. What happens if Allen falls apart the last two games of the season?
Hitch knows more than me, that's for sure, so I figure he has good reason.
It's just scary. I keep having visions of Roman Turek.

I hope we go to the third round too!