HockeyBuzz Hotstove: Hotstove: Is Starting Jake Allen Over Brian Elliott The Right Decision?

Having been down this road for the past few seasons as a Duck fan...
NO - simple as that - panic move - how about Blues D actually remembering how to play some basic D - or the fowards dedicating some time to the back check - or stop taking just horrid penalties .... let's see Sharks PP is red hot ... hmmm stay out of the box ... can't seem to manage that well then you lose series ...

Could this be more than just a lack of confidence in Elliott? Don't coaches do this to spark the team as well, which is clearly what is needed? I'm not saying I agree with the switch, but could it be that Hitch knows something we don't know? How will you feel if they win with Allen? Will it be because he was the better choice in net, or because the team decided to play better/differently in front of him? Of course if they lose with Allen, then it's more than just a goaltender problem.

These 2 Goalies are very close in talent, but I'm suspecting that Elliott is a bit fatigued and banged up so he could use a rest. I agree with some analysts who note that Elliott has let in a couple of soft goals lately.
Allen is a better puck handler which will help the D deal with a fierce SJ forecheck. The game is in SJ, so the Coach will try it there but if it doesn't work out, then return to Elliott back home. Not a big deal at all.

Terrible discussion really.

These 2 Goalies are very close in talent, but I'm suspecting that Elliott is a bit fatigued and banged up so he could use a rest. I agree with some analysts who note that Elliott has let in a couple of soft goals lately.
Allen is a better puck handler which will help the D deal with a fierce SJ forecheck. The game is in SJ, so the Coach will try it there but if it doesn't work out, then return to Elliott back home. Not a big deal at all.
- haymac

Someone around here knows about hockey at least. Well thought out post sir.

Yes. Owned.

Could this be more than just a lack of confidence in Elliott? Don't coaches do this to spark the team as well, which is clearly what is needed? I'm not saying I agree with the switch, but could it be that Hitch knows something we don't know? How will you feel if they win with Allen? Will it be because he was the better choice in net, or because the team decided to play better/differently in front of him? Of course if they lose with Allen, then it's more than just a goaltender problem.
- Asplanchna

Why would players play differently based on who is in net? How exactly woykd this spark the team?

"Why would players play differently based on who is in net? How exactly woykd this spark the team?" James Tanner (quote system wasn't working so I cut and pasted myself - Asplanchna).

No clue. But I've heard commentators time and again say this. I've never played myself, only watched for the past 15 years or so, but it's mentioned with some consistency each and every year when a goaltender change is made.

Since Tanner is against it, I am more confident it is the right move.

Why would players play differently based on who is in net? How exactly woykd this spark the team?
- James_Tanner

timing is everything & the coach knows his players best. It doesn't work every time, but mostly does. It tends to make the players focus on their own efforts. The coach can criticize the players all he wants, but sometimes that doesn't work. Players are a tight group so when the coach pulls a goalie, the team usually re-focuses their efforts as they feel responsible for their Goalie being pulled.
Hockey is a hard, fast game...these guys are going to war with & for each other, so they rally at that move, if it's made at the right time.

Elliott has always been a spectacular backup goalie but Jake is your going to be your #1 guy going forward so why not give him the reins? I like the decision and i think they will win tonight because of it

Yes it is they need to wake up and Elliott is tired. LGB!

Why does anyone ask Tanner ANYHTHING, but too leave?

Why would players play differently based on who is in net? How exactly woykd this spark the team?
- James_Tanner

It shouldn't in theory but it happens from the NHL to the beer leagues. You could take my beer league from 2 years ago and look at the box score sans names and tell who was in net by the number of shots against and the goals for. Made no sense but the teams played differently.

timing is everything & the coach knows his players best. It doesn't work every time, but mostly does. It tends to make the players focus on their own efforts. The coach can criticize the players all he wants, but sometimes that doesn't work. Players are a tight group so when the coach pulls a goalie, the team usually re-focuses their efforts as they feel responsible for their Goalie being pulled.
Hockey is a hard, fast game...these guys are going to war with & for each other, so they rally at that move, if it's made at the right time.
- haymac

Very true on a lot of fronts. There is a band of brothers feel to it.

ETA - stop by the blues blog to add to the discussion any time you want.

timing is everything & the coach knows his players best. It doesn't work every time, but mostly does. It tends to make the players focus on their own efforts. The coach can criticize the players all he wants, but sometimes that doesn't work. Players are a tight group so when the coach pulls a goalie, the team usually re-focuses their efforts as they feel responsible for their Goalie being pulled.
Hockey is a hard, fast game...these guys are going to war with & for each other, so they rally at that move, if it's made at the right time.
- haymac

Man you are spinning even more gold.

The other aspect as a player is you had a certain confidence in some guys whether it was reality or not. You knew their weaknesses better than anyone and against some teams you wanted to okay for certain guys. Sometimes a guy works hard or his attitude is such you do not want to let him down.

You also know often if there is a goalie change it is reflective ofnyour failure and at least during a game the guy is cold and vulnerable coming into the net so you naturally want to protect them. For whatever reason you find an extra bounce in your step to watch someone's back.

For the players who had a direct fault in the goals against you knownit is on you and you work harder and like you said focus better.

This change makes a lot of sense because in honesty they wanted to go back to Allen much sooner but could not becaus they would have put him in unfair situations where he might have felt the weight of failure more and that could have harmed his develoment. But Allen is superior. Stats are nice but the stats tell only part of the story. Allen plays thenouck tremendously well and Elliott helps thenother team more than his own when he plays the puck. This actually makes Shattenkirk better on his off side because he does not need to go behind the net.

Why would players play differently based on who is in net? How exactly woykd this spark the team?
- James_Tanner

Like this?

Three "experts" that know nothing about the Blues.

This was completely expected and the right move.

"Blues would be better off sitting Tarasenko then Elliott"

James "the tool" Tanner at it again! Jackass.

You have two great goalies, you can't go wrong starting either one. There is only one Tarasenko in the NHL and he happens to be the best scorer on the Blues.

"Blues would be better off sitting Tarasenko then Elliott"

James "the tool" Tanner at it again! Jackass.

You have two great goalies, you can't go wrong starting either one. There is only one Tarasenko in the NHL and he happens to be the best scorer on the Blues.
- karlssens65

Do you think James can statistically analyze how this occurred?

I would like a hot stov now where these guys eat some crow.

No.

Classic and typical

Why must so many assume a goalie switch is placing blame on the goalie coming out. If they are terrible, that's the reason. But there are many other reasons to do it.

Elliott was wearing down. He hasn't played this much, playing every game, while with the Blues. Basically every game for 3 months. He isn't used to that, and it started catching up with him.

Allen is also very good and has different parts of his game that are even more desirable right now (such as his stick handling) so it wasn't like it was a drop off to put him in. Actually the opposite since they are both good goalies and he is fresh while Elliott is worn down.