Jake Allen made some history when the St. Louis Blues defeated the Montreal Canadiens earlier this week. The win was Allen’s 104th with the Blues, tying him with Brian Elliott for the fourth-most wins in team history.
Wins
151 – Mike Liut
137 – Curtis Joseph
108 – Grant Fuhr
104 – Jake Allen
104 – Brian Elliott
Maybe it’s just me, but it seems crazy that Allen has already racked up that many wins. Considering Elliott’s total was also surprising when it happened, maybe it’s just a reflection on how the modern era treats goalies and how the Blues’ history in goal isn’t as deep as some may believe. Liut’s total of 151 career wins with the Blues isn’t too impressive when you compare it with a side like the New York Rangers where six different goaltenders have had more franchise wins (Henrik Lundqvist has 418, Mike Richter has 301). The Blues tend to roll through goalies at a fairly regular clip, preventing any significant stat accumulation.
The comparison between Allen and Elliott is fascinating. Allen needed 183 games to reach 104 wins while Elliott needed 181. That’s almost eerily similar, but that’s where the similarities end. Looking at GAA and save percentage, Elliott does have the distinct edge with a 2.01 GAA and .925 save percentage with the Blues compared to Allen’s 2.42 GAA and .914 save percentage. Despite having the edge on stats, you can’t really say Elliott’s wins were “better” compared to Allen’s. A win is a win.
Though Elliott and Allen overlapped during their time with the Blues, it’s not totally fair to draw too many comparisons due to the evolving team on the ice in front of them. The Blues of now are very different from the Blues of even a couple years ago, particularly in how they defend.
Allen’s climb up the rankings has been fairly quiet. Hopefully he can continue that ascent throughout the rest of his time with the Blues.
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