gaijin wrote:Allen starting again? Is there something we should know about Elliott?
drwoland wrote:I don't read too much into Elliott/Allen. Remember, Elliott's had a relatively serious injury this year, and has still played very consistently. I think they're giving Elliott some rest down the stretch while allowing Allen to stay sharp since we may well need him in the playoffs.
dmiles2186 wrote:Jake Allen has been phenomenal in his last 10 starts, most on the road. I think they referenced a 1.89 GAA (give or take) in those starts. Don't look now, but do we have a #1 swap on our hands soon?
Actually, Elliott has struggled mightily with consistency lately. His sv% in his last six starts have been:
.750
1.000
.842
1.000
.971
.750
He's been largely boom or bust since his return-of the 28 starts since he's had 13 with sv% of .900 or below, 15 above that mark. Before that, he played 14 games and only clocked below .900 4 times despite playing only 4 teams not currently in playoff spots, one of which being the Kings. Not saying they should switch, and I don't think they are, but I do think the season may be wearing on him more than usual due to the injury or maybe he's still getting back to fully 100%. I hope he gets it together soon. Allen's age and recent record tells me he will have a bit of mental weakness at some point in the near future and results to match.
Save % is a tough thing to judge really. If the Blues as a team show up then shots are down by opposing teams. Allowing 20 shots and giving up 2 is a Sv % .90 and if they give up 25 shot it a Sv% it's a .92. Problem is if they give up that all important 3rd goal. 3 goals on 25 shots goes down to a Sv% .88. To me Sv% is a team stat more than a goal-tending stat. The Blues for the most part are a stingy defensive team and when they make a mistake opposing teams must capitalize. When they do Sv% can fluctuate by a considerable amount.
Elliot is playing well. Allen is playing well. We are first in the division for a reason. Wins/points are what matter. Goal-tending goes how the team goes. When the team is playing well they win and when they are just phoning it in they win some too. This is the best chance we have had for a cup run since 2000-01 season. I truly believe this is the year and I don't think I have ever said that. I can't wait for the playoffs to start.
I also love the ESPN headline today about this game, "Steen propels slumping Blues by Pens in OT."
If 6-2-2 in your last 10 and first in the Western Conference is a slump, let's (Franking) slump all year every year. That's slump is 114 pt season pace, btw.
not_a_wings_fan wrote:I also love the ESPN headline today about this game, "Steen propels slumping Blues by Pens in OT."
If 6-2-2 in your last 10 and first in the Western Conference is a slump, let's (Franking) slump all year every year. That's slump is 114 pt season pace, btw.
It did snap a 3 game losing streak though. I'm gonna give ESPN a pass on this one.
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not_a_wings_fan wrote:I also love the ESPN headline today about this game, "Steen propels slumping Blues by Pens in OT."
If 6-2-2 in your last 10 and first in the Western Conference is a slump, let's (Franking) slump all year every year. That's slump is 114 pt season pace, btw.
It did snap a 3 game losing streak though. I'm gonna give ESPN a pass on this one.
And the pens have lost six of their last eight... so shouldn't it say "Pens continue slide with OT loss to the Blues" or " Blues Rally late to dump slumping Pens" or something that reflects the fact that the Pens have played like shit for weeks? Or even the fact that they have played sub .500 hockey since January?
No, it doesn't, it backhand slaps us for winning a game we were supposed to win.
And just as an aside... If you dump losses and ot losses together and compare them to wins, you almost always have to have more wins than total losses to make the playoffs. There have been just a few exceptions going back several years. This year it's a perfect predictor of who is in and who is out in both conferences this year.
I will see teams that have more points at a given point in the season, but see that they are benefiting from extra points for ot/so losses and assume they won't be there in a post season spot at the end of the year.
Honestly, I am happy to just have the headline even be about the blues. I would be mad if it said "pens can't get past slumping blues" or something. I'm fine with it as it is; if a 3 game losing streak in which we still got 2 points (even disregarding the nature of those losses) is a slump, I'll take it.
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