Allen has, and always has had, all the tools to be an elite goalie. With that said, it seems to pour when it does rain for him -- and has throughout his career (at all levels).
The only battle Allen has left to win takes place between his ears.
I still have high hopes for him, but I certainly thought his stretches of rampant subpar play were going to be behind him. I don't pretend to know a lot about the goaltending position, but I was excited to see how Allen's 1-1 skills would look in our system. He's probably the best open lane goalie we've had in some time. He looked razor sharp at first, but has since been pulled out of position regularly.
I'm excited for Elliott to come back. Allen is a fantastic back-up option, at this point in his career. I don't think this pour stretch of play tells us anything about who Allen is, but it does bring up how underrated Elliott is by our fanbase/the league.
Separately, I know there are a few netminders amongst these boards -- is it fair to say that Elliott and Allen are opposite one another in how they are in and out of traffic? Elliott seems to stop a ton of pucks through traffic and be somewhat weaker when it comes to the open lane shots. Whereas, Allen, on top of his game, lets in pucks more frequently through traffic, but is Quick-like stopping the open lane shots.