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Goalie nods: Blues reward Hutton, who has ‘competed like heck’

St Louis Blues v Chicago Blackhawks

CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 01: Carter Hutton #40 of the St. Louis Blues stops a shot by Vincent Hinostroza #48 of the Chicago Blackhawks during a preseason game at the United Center on October 1, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

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Jake Allen has been a workhorse and was banged up prior to the holiday break. He’s probably due for a rest. But Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock wasn’t about to use that as his logic for starting backup Carter Hutton tonight against the Flyers.

“I just feel like I want to reward a guy that … he’s competed like heck, he’s played really well in his last game,” Hitchcock said, per KSDK. “I feel like I want to reward that.

“We know that Jake (Allen’s) got a lot of games in him, this gives him a chance to reset the dial for three practices in a row and then get ready to play on the 30th and the 2nd.”

Hutton’s reward is just his fourth start in the last 21 games, and first since a 3-2 OT loss to the Oilers on Dec. 19. The 31-year-old performed reasonably well that night -- stopping 32 of 35 shots for a .914 save percentage -- in what, as Hitchcock alluded to, was one of his better outings of the year. Hutton has struggled since coming over from Nashville in free agency, posting a 2-4-2 record with a 2.91 GAA and .893 save percentage.

For the Flyers, Steve Mason gets the nod.

Elsewhere...

-- Roberto Luongo, who allowed three goals on 39 shots in a shootout loss to Detroit last Friday, goes for Florida. He’ll be up against Frederik Andersen, who starts the first of a back-to-back for the Leafs.

-- Carolina will continue to ride Cam Ward when it takes on Pittsburgh tonight. No word yet on a Pens starter, though Marc-Andre Fleury did play last night against New Jersey.

-- Andrei Vasilevskiy, who’s been up-and-down since taking over starting duties from the injured Ben Bishop, goes for the Bolts. The visiting Habs will start Carey Price, who hasn’t played since last Thursday.

-- A veteran affair in Vancouver, as 36-year-old Ryan Miller takes on 34-year-old Peter Budaj.