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Goalie controversy on? Blues activate Allen from IR

Jake Allen, Brian Elliott

St. Louis Blues goalie Jake Allen (34) puts on a glove as he gets ready to replace Brian Elliott, right, during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Minnesota Wild in St. Paul, Minn., Saturday, March 21, 2015. (AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt)

AP

Just a few days ago, PHT’s Jason Brough asked: what happens for the St. Louis Blues if Jake Allen gets healthy?

Apparently that was well-timed, as the Blues activated the young goalie from injured reserve mere days later on Sunday.

Brian Elliott’s been a workhorse for St. Louis, playing well enough to make people wonder if the Blues will finally give him another shot in the playoffs after choosing others (including Allen last season and Ryan Miller before that) instead.

Let’s look at the two goalies’ stats so far this season:

Elliott: 17-7-6, .931 save percentage, one shutout
Allen: 18-10-3, .924 save percentage, five shutouts

As you can see, the Blues have enjoyed great goaltending from both goalies so far this season, with Elliott getting the slight edge (but Allen seemingly being the guy that the franchise wants to carry the torch).

For what it’s worth, the comments seem to range from “Mean things said about Hitchcock” to “play the hot hand” to “stick with Elliott for once.”

As Brough mentioned, having two good choices is better than none ... but the second-guessing will almost certainly be there no matter what if the Blues fall short in the playoffs once again.