If Allen is going to implode and need to be moved, you gotta play him and get it over with. And if he's going to find his form, even better.
Thank goodness Jake isn't going to miss any significant time. I'd hate to think what our chances of the playoffs would look like if we lost our #1 so early in the season. Crisis averted.
I think you are bit off your vision about how bad our NHL squad defense really is. Our d-core are taking away dangerous shooting lane by blocking shots etc. and giving up short side angles. Our defensive system is relying our goaltender having good rebound controll and good position awarness with all those Allen is poor. No matter what kind of traffic Allen will face he's in problem. He'll most off cases moving too aggressive at net which makes deflections even harder him to save (only rely his reclections which are NHL top notch btw), having absolutely horrendous rebound controll which allows easy goals. If you (goaltender) are screened you should always try to seek the puck and make yourself big as possible and not collapse to small as possible and retreat inside of crease.I want Husso to succeed, but I don’t see the high ceiling that some on here project. I fear he’s being set up to be a disappointment, given a task that no young goalie not named Roy would be able to tackle. Are there posters who don’t think his AHL season so far has not been a disappointment? Do we ignore that when we fantasize about calling him up to relieve Allen? If he can’t bail out a disorganized AHL team, why would he do so with the NHL squad...at the same time as getting acclimated to the faster speed of the NHL game?
I think Johnson has a bigger chance of getting on a hot streak for 20 games.
It’s not an easy situation for Armstrong, but he created a lot of it.
I think what many of Allen's defenders miss is not that we expect him to be able to react and make save every time on deflected shot, we expect him more often to be in good position and still be able to make saves on shots he can't reasonably react to because they hit him.I think you are bit off your vision about how bad our NHL squad defense really is. Our d-core are taking away dangerous shooting lane by blocking shots etc. and giving up short side angles. Our defensive system is relying our goaltender having good rebound controll and good position awarness with all those Allen is poor. No matter what kind of traffic Allen will face he's in problem. He'll most off cases moving too aggressive at net which makes deflections even harder him to save (only rely his reclections which are NHL top notch btw), having absolutely horrendous rebound controll which allows easy goals. If you (goaltender) are screened you should always try to seek the puck and make yourself big as possible and not collapse to small as possible and retreat inside of crease.
I think last night games couple goals were good example how bad Allen really is with his position, too deep in the net, making himself too small, not finding the shooter (puck) and majority of time moves gliding all over the place and guessing where to puck would go.
Even I could be a coach and have success with team against where is Jake Allen playing. Just say to players SHOOT HIGH, SHOOT ONLY HIGH.
Pick games where Allen is actually the main reason we lose to make your point. He was not the main reason we lost. Even if you attribute all three goals that weren't deflections to him he played league average goaltending. In the meantime, the defense is allowing the opposing team to keep a minimum of 2 guys in front of the crease to screen the goaltender and deflect shots; see how that works? We are also seeing a lot of odd man breakaways heading back to the net. Jake used to be so much better than Elliott on breakaways. He was good for stopping 2 out of every 3 and Elliott used to save maybe 4 out of 10. I wish they'd throw Husso in there just to see what your reactions are when you don't get the results you keep claiming we'll get. I really don't, because I value his future in this club more than you do I guess.I think you are bit off your vision about how bad our NHL squad defense really is. Our d-core are taking away dangerous shooting lane by blocking shots etc. and giving up short side angles. Our defensive system is relying our goaltender having good rebound controll and good position awarness with all those Allen is poor. No matter what kind of traffic Allen will face he's in problem. He'll most off cases moving too aggressive at net which makes deflections even harder him to save (only rely his reclections which are NHL top notch btw), having absolutely horrendous rebound controll which allows easy goals. If you (goaltender) are screened you should always try to seek the puck and make yourself big as possible and not collapse to small as possible and retreat inside of crease.
I think last night games couple goals were good example how bad Allen really is with his position, too deep in the net, making himself too small, not finding the shooter (puck) and majority of time moves gliding all over the place and guessing where to puck would go.
Even I could be a coach and have success with team against where is Jake Allen playing. Just say to players SHOOT HIGH, SHOOT ONLY HIGH.
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2nd goal
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Could be a big part of the reason he isn't making those breakaway saves like he used to. That used to be his strong point. We used to win the majority of them. The defense is bad, goaltending is bad, and I fear we are going to start shipping out players instead of coaches first like we did with Oshie; especially since the coach we have now is a mini-me of the last one.One of the things I find particularly concerning about Allen’s play this season is how often he is getting caught deep in his net. Elliott caught a lot of flak for this, often deservedly so, but he made it work for the most part because he was positionally sound and still managed to cover a lot of net. With Allen and his career long struggles to maintain position and stay square to the puck, being off-angle -AND- too deep in his net has had disastrous results. He’s just giving opposing shooters way too much net to shoot at.
It's a team game. There's almost never a time where one guy is the main reason a team lost. A player's play is either contributing to a team's struggles, or it isn't. If it isn't, it's open to (fair) criticism.Pick games where Allen is actually the main reason we lose to make your point. He was not the main reason we lost. Even if you attribute all three goals that weren't deflections to him he played league average goaltending. In the meantime, the defense is allowing the opposing team to keep a minimum of 2 guys in front of the crease to screen the goaltender and deflect shots; see how that works? We are also seeing a lot of odd man breakaways heading back to the net. Jake used to be so much better than Elliott on breakaways. He was good for stopping 2 out of every 3 and Elliott used to save maybe 4 out of 10. I wish they'd throw Husso in there just to see what your reactions are when you don't get the results you keep claiming we'll get. I really don't, because I value his future in this club more than you do I guess.
I agree and am a part of the minority on this board that does not believe he should shoulder the amount of the blame he is getting. There is definitely something going on in his head beyond a lack of in game focus. It could be substance abuse, depression, a correlation between the two? When you see him during an interview there is something in his eyes that is missing, a certain spark, like he's trying to hide something that he doesn't want anyone else to see.It's a team game. There's almost never a time where one guy is the main reason a team lost. A player's play is either contributing to a team's struggles, or it isn't. If it isn't, it's open to (fair) criticism.
I'm not sure if the "two guys screening the goalie" thing was intentional hyperbole or not, but that's rarely the case.
I'm also honestly not sure if you think keeping a "clear" crease is actually feasible in today's game. If a team wants to be there, you simply can't prevent it. No team can, and no team does. The league doesn't want teams to prevent it, and thus they've removed the tools that teams used to employ to that end.
You can't man-handle an opponent out of the crease, or heap abuse onto him until he wants to go. You also can't physically prevent him from going there to begin with. Players are constantly camped in front of and around goalies in today's game. Constantly. Expecting a team to prevent that is not a reasonable expectation. It simply can't be done. If an opponent isn't getting there, it's because they didn't want to be there, not because the defending team prevented it.
Teams deal with that by trying to prevent the puck from getting to the net to begin with (which many teams do by fronting defensively, getting bodies into shooting lanes, etc.), or by trying to out-man the opponent around the net to give them a numerical advantage (collapsing defenses), or by playing net-side positioning relatively straight-up and hoping (combined with a goalie's ability to control rebounds) that's enough.
For their part, goalies just have to be able to deal with it in some way...whether that's by finding ways to track the puck through traffic, or by anticipating shots and pressing their angles well to maximize net coverage. Rebound control and having a "feel" for the puck once it hits (helping with subsequent tracking and recovery) are important abilities as well. If you are not particularly good at any of those things, and preferably more than one, you are simply not a starting quality goaltender in today's NHL. Do you think Allen is particularly good at any of those things?
To be clear, I'm not trying to exonerate the defense (both by the defensemen and forwards) for their contributions to the Blues current struggles with this post, and I'm not interested in throwing Allen under the bus for any specific game (particularly this one, which I didn't see).
I just think that Allen's play over his last 70 or so starts has made it obvious that his personal struggles are part of the problem, and we should try to get to a point as a community where we can discuss his shortcomings for what they are without the implication that he's solely to blame for everything, or the implication that his struggles are generally not his fault.
I understand you can't just keep a clear crease, but we have no one even getting shoulder to shoulder and creating havoc for the guy trying to create havoc for our goal tender. In many cases I see the guy camping out in front of the goaltender seems to get lost and have free reign. In any case, I believe it is a team game and have said several times now that Allen is not a star goalie, but I think he can get the job done behind a competent D, and probably will have to since I don't see any options right now with our cap. There just doesn't seem to be any real debate about what we can realistically do. Every GDT turns into an "Allen sucks" thread on every goal given up, whether it is or not, and I see a much bigger problem. I guess my defense of him and a few other players sometimes isn't so much of them as it is to try and put focus on other aspects or players who seem to get a complete pass when they are doing nothing, yet we find fault with guys like Tarasenko who is currently almost a point per game.It's a team game. There's almost never a time where one guy is the main reason a team lost. A player's play is either contributing to a team's struggles, or it isn't. If it isn't, it's open to (fair) criticism.
I'm not sure if the "two guys screening the goalie" thing was intentional hyperbole or not, but that's rarely the case.
I'm also honestly not sure if you think keeping a "clear" crease is actually feasible in today's game. If a team wants to be there, you simply can't prevent it. No team can, and no team does. The league doesn't want teams to prevent it, and thus they've removed the tools that teams used to employ to that end.
You can't man-handle an opponent out of the crease, or heap abuse onto him until he wants to go. You also can't physically prevent him from going there to begin with. Players are constantly camped in front of and around goalies in today's game. Constantly. Expecting a team to prevent that is not a reasonable expectation. It simply can't be done. If an opponent isn't getting there, it's because they didn't want to be there, not because the defending team prevented it.
Teams deal with that by trying to prevent the puck from getting to the net to begin with (which many teams do by fronting defensively, getting bodies into shooting lanes, etc.), or by trying to out-man the opponent around the net to give them a numerical advantage (collapsing defenses), or by playing net-side positioning relatively straight-up and hoping (combined with a goalie's ability to control rebounds) that's enough.
For their part, goalies just have to be able to deal with it in some way...whether that's by finding ways to track the puck through traffic, or by anticipating shots and pressing their angles well to maximize net coverage. Rebound control and having a "feel" for the puck once it hits (helping with subsequent tracking and recovery) are important abilities as well. If you are not particularly good at any of those things, and preferably more than one, you are simply not a starting quality goaltender in today's NHL. Do you think Allen is particularly good at any of those things?
To be clear, I'm not trying to exonerate the defense (both by the defensemen and forwards) for their contributions to the Blues current struggles with this post, and I'm not interested in throwing Allen under the bus for any specific game (particularly this one, which I didn't see).
I just think that Allen's play over his last 70 or so starts has made it obvious that his personal struggles are part of the problem, and we should try to get to a point as a community where we can discuss his shortcomings for what they are without the implication that he's solely to blame for everything, or the implication that his struggles are generally not his fault.
I understand you can't just keep a clear crease, but we have no one even getting shoulder to shoulder and creating havoc for the guy trying to create havoc for our goal tender. In many cases I see the guy camping out in front of the goaltender seems to get lost and have free reign. In any case, I believe it is a team game and have said several times now that Allen is not a star goalie, but I think he can get the job done behind a competent D, and probably will have to since I don't see any options right now with our cap. There just doesn't seem to be any real debate about what we can realistically do. Every GDT turns into an "Allen sucks" thread on every goal given up, whether it is or not, and I see a much bigger problem. I guess my defense of him and a few other players sometimes isn't so much of them as it is to try and put focus on other aspects or players who seem to get a complete pass when they are doing nothing, yet we find fault with guys like Tarasenko who is currently almost a point per game.
Sometimes, this is a "careful what you wish for" situation. If your goalie is already having difficulty tracking pucks through screens and you have your defenders "getting shoulder to shoulder" with the net front guy, now you have two bodies for your goalie to have to track pucks through instead of just one.I understand you can't just keep a clear crease, but we have no one even getting shoulder to shoulder and creating havoc for the guy trying to create havoc for our goal tender. In many cases I see the guy camping out in front of the goaltender seems to get lost and have free reign.
I'll never root for a Blues player or coach to fail. Every time they put on the Bluenote, I want them to play well and get a solid win. If changes need to be made, I can accept that. But I will root for everyone that puts themselves on the line for the Bluenote.I cam across this, and its a reminder that hockey players are people. Even bad players can be good people. This is a touching story of a gesture by Allen to honor a teammate's family member.
Allen supports teammate with Hockey Fights Cancer mask
Many of us, myself included, need to remember this when we start critiquing the person, not the player. I have seen people in this thread speculate about drug use and mental disorders. At the end of the day, Jake seems like a good person, even if his hockey skills are questioned.
Haven't Allen met sport psychology?I came across this, and its a reminder that hockey players are people. Even bad players can be good people. This is a touching story of a gesture by Allen to honor a teammate's family member.
Allen supports teammate with Hockey Fights Cancer mask
Many of us, myself included, need to remember this when we start critiquing the person, not the player. I have seen people in this thread speculate about drug use and mental disorders. At the end of the day, Jake seems like a good person, even if his hockey skills are questioned.