St Louis Blues Goaltending Situation

St Louis Blues are off to another hot start in 2015-16 with a 5-2-0 record after seven games, most recently being shutout 3-0 by Montreal on Tuesday night. Brian Elliott saw the majority of starts in net in 2014-15, and it seems to be the continued theme to begin the season. Elliott has started four games, while Jake Allen has started three.

St Louis Blues 2015-16 Goaltending Statistics:

Brian Elliott 4gp – 4 wins – 2.00 GAA – .918 save percentage
Jake Allen 3gp – 1 win – 3.02 GAA – .899 save percentage

To a casual observer, one may assume that Brian Elliott has been a brick wall, with Jake Allen having struggles. The stats don’t tell the story for this tandem with the St Louis Blues. Elliott’s opponents have been Edmonton x2, Calgary, and Winnipeg. The three teams have a combined record of 7-12-0 (Winnipeg is 4-2-0). Jake Allen has played Minnesota, Vancouver, and Montreal, a combined record of 13-2-3. Hardly a fair comparable to begin the 2015-16 campaign. The positive sign is that St Louis looks committed to Jake Allen as their #1, even if he’s played fewer games.

History Tends to Repeat Itself

Oct 15, 2015; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; St. Louis Blues goaltender Brian Elliott (1) makes a save against the Edmonton Oilers during the first period at Rexall Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

There’s an old saying, “those who do not learn from history, are destined to repeat it”. St Louis Blues fans would be wise to remember this if at some point they get overly frustrated with their young netminder. At no point would turning to Brian Elliott to carry the load be the answer, at least not in the playoffs. Brian Elliott has put together some incredible regular season performances in recent years, but lacks that playoff intensity that pushes goalies to steal games for their team. One must even question whether Elliott makes for a good mentor for young Jake Allen to learn from.

Hand the Torch off to Allen

Hopefully the plan is to continue giving Elliott the weaker opponents as the season wears on, because it’s time to hand the reins to Jake Allen. The 46 games that Brian Elliott played last season cannot be duplicated in 2015-16. Jake needs to see at least 45 to 50 starts to give him the mental toughness for a grueling playoff run. Goalies are a rare breed with delicate psyches, and I’m willing to be it hasn’t truly felt like his goal with the St Louis Blues so far. They need to instill the confidence in him as their guy, so that he can instill the confidence in himself. He’s a talented young goalie, that if handled properly, could be a significant factor in bringing the St Louis Blues deep into a run at the Stanley Cup.

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