Blues' Allen unhappy after being pulled, sent back into game
Some good old goaltending drama in St. Louis.
With the Toronto Maple Leafs somehow proving a formidable foe Saturday night, starting Blues netminder Jake Allen was pulled after allowing his third goal of the night. And he wasn't happy about it.
Down 3-1, Allen skated to the bench, and with his teammates on their feet banging their sticks against the bench, the goaltender looked toward his head coach, Ken Hitchcock, shrugged, and had some words for him. He then stormed down the tunnel, clearly upset.
The Blues were being soundly outplayed by the Maple Leafs at that point, nine minutes into the second period, and Hitchcock clearly was looking to get a rise out of his team.
Brian Elliott replaced Allen - for all of two minutes and change. After a stoppage, Allen was back in net. He's clearly the No. 1 in St. Louis, thanks to his .926 save percentage entering the game, and it appears he may have his coach's ear.
If Allen actually argued his way back into the net, that's a HUGE step forward in the goalie's movement.
— David Alter (@dalter) December 6, 2015
Elliott officially played 2:18, and didn't face a shot. Allen stopped 20 of 23 shots through 30 minutes.