Jake Allen didn't know if he'd get an opportunity. But he knew he'd be prepared if he did.
The St. Louis Blues turned to Allen in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals, all but a must-win situation on the road against the San Jose Sharks. And Allen delivered. He stopped 31 of 34 shots, and, despite all three Sharks goals being scored in the third period, was exceptional as San Jose pushed.
"I've been ready, practicing as hard as I can," Allen said after the victory. "I felt confident out there."
Head coach Ken Hitchcock said Allen's numbers Saturday don't do him justice.
"He only let one goal in. Any time your goalie lets one goal in, that's a really good sign. He only really let one in."
And Hitchcock said the goalie gave his team the boost it was looking for.
"Allen gave us exactly what we needed. He's a competitive son of a gun. We needed a battler in there. We needed somebody to really help us play better defense. We played with more passion in front of him in our own zone because I made the goalie change. I had to make that decision.
"I just felt like we were allowing them too much open space with (Brian Elliott) in there, and Ells was getting bombarded. We needed to just dig in a little bit deeper defensively if we were going to have a chance in this series."
Hitchcock laughed when asked if Allen would start Game 5.
"You know, I didn't think that question was coming. I'll let you know tomorrow," he said.
With the series heading back to St. Louis tied 2-2, Hitchcock is optimistic, after his team played its game Saturday, not San Jose's.
"When (key players) raise their emotional level, it's a good sign," he said. "They went to another level for us. This is a big step. We came here to win a hockey game and we did it. If we continue down this path, I like our chances to win."
"We went back to our roots," said Troy Brouwer. "Collectively and individually, guys really brought a great game tonight."
"We knew we had this in us," Allen concluded. "It's good to show it."
