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A quick introduction for Jake Allen, the Blues’ Plan C in net

St. Louis Blues v Colorado Avalanche

during their preseason game at Pepsi Center on September 23, 2011 in Denver, Colorado.

Doug Pensinger

Jaroslav Halak isn’t walking through that door - at least not in the second round. So with the St. Louis Blues down 3-0 to the Los Angeles Kings and Brian Elliott struggling in net, it forces the question of whether wet-behind-the-ears prospect Jake Allen deserves a nod.

After all, Braden Holtby doesn’t have a huge playoff resume himself and he seems to be doing OK. Feel free to debate the merits of such a decision in the comments, but for the uninitiated (perhaps including Ken Hitchcock?), consider this Allen’s quickie resume.

(Much of this info via the Blues’ bio page.)

Jake Allen

Age: 21
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 195 lbs.
Drafted: second round (34th overall) in 2008
Career NHL regular season and playoff minutes: zero

You may remember Allen from his work in the 2010 World Hockey Championships, when he was part of a rotation that fell just short against Team USA in an overtime gold medal game. Beyond that, he was the CHL Goalie of the Year in 2009-10 and also was named the QMJHL best goalie (the trophy’s named after Jacques Plante, nifty) in the same season.

His numbers were solid with the Peoria Rivermen in the AHL. During this season, he went 13-20-2 in 38 games played, but his individual numbers were solid (2.93 GAA, .915 save percentage). He fared a little better in 2010-11, when he went 25-19-3 with a 2.52 GAA and .917 save percentage before struggling in three AHL playoff losses.
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Those aren’t force-your-way-to-the-NHL numbers, but are they good enough for a desperate team to give him a try? Let us know.