Hitchcock says he’ll ‘sleep’ on Game 7 goaltending decision
St. Louis Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said he will “sleep” on a decision on which goaltender he will start in Game 7 of his second-round series.
In St. Louis’ Game 6 loss, Brian Elliott was pulled after allowing three goals on seven shots on goal. In the past, Hitchcock has been known to have an itchy trigger finger between Elliott and Jake Allen.
It wasn’t until right before the playoffs that Elliott was named the starter. Allen missed the last week of the NHL’s regular season, which could have played a role in Hitchcock choosing Elliott.
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This isn’t the first time this playoff Hitchcock was asked about goaltenders going into an important game. In the Blues’ seven-game win over the Chicago Blackhawks in their last series, Hitchcock was asked if he would start Allen over Elliott in Game 7. In Game 6, Elliott had allowed five goals in a 6-3 loss. Hitchcock chose Elliott and Elliott delivered with 31 saves on 33 shots on goal in the win.
“This isn’t a reflection on Brian. He’s carried us and he’s been doing this thing for two months now, Hitchcock said after the game. “The guy has had a hell of a March and a hell of an April and a hell of a May. That’s the way you can say it.”
Elliott had been sound this series leading up to Game 6 with a 1.92 goal-against average and .937 save percentage. He was also the better St. Louis netminder in the regular season with a 2.07 goal-against average and .930 save percentage.
Last year in the playoffs, Allen struggled with a 2.20 goal against average and .920 save percentage in a six-game loss to the Minnesota Wild.
Allen only faced seven shots on goal in Game 6 and stopped all of them.
“After we got down a couple there we dominated the game,” Allen said according to the Dallas Morning News. “I only had a few shots, didn’t have to do a lot, but just my objective at that point was to give the guys a chance to come back. It was just a little too late. But two-thirds of the game or three-quarters of the game at least we had our chances. Now we’ve got one game left to move on.”
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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
