Jake Allen Pro Reads

​The Scenario

This play starts with a Blackhawks power play winding down and the puck moved behind the net by Dylan Strome from Allen’s right, with passing options on either side:

Any thoughts on how Allen is set up here? Things you like? Things you’d like to see different?

Beyond that, what factors are you considering about the passer and both pass options?

The Save

Now let’s take a look at the sequence on video, but think about those same questions.  

Did your answer change in terms of how Allen set up with Strome behind the net as a left shot? Would you handle it differently? Does the handedness of the passing options change anything?

The Pro-Read

Now let’s listen to Allen break down the video for us to see if your answers matched his. 

If you had concerns about Allen staying anchored on his right post even after Strome, a left-handed shot, got past the middle of the net behind him, you weren’t alone.

“That’s a terrible position,” Allen said, admitting he got “stuck” on his right post.  

Beyond the honest admission — which is also a good reminder to our readers it’s not wrong to disagree with how these NHL goalies play every situation in Pro Reads, but the exercise of thinking through each one and comparing note as to why is valuable — it was interesting to hear Allen talk about the “Jonathan Quick rule” of post play as how he’d prefer to have played it.

We happened to have a photo sequence of the Quick method, which in this situation would have allowed Allen to more easily keep his eyes on the play to his left without giving up the seal on his right, keeping him in good position should the puck move back to his right, while also setting him up for an easier push into space and angle on his left:

It was also interesting to hear Allen talk about the decision not to chase even after he got stuck, and that conversation with Brodeur. It was also valuable to hear Allen talk about staying in the middle of the net in that situation, and the importance of not opening up and “letting a bad one go through you.”

All the more reason to keep working through the Pro Reads we’ve done with Allen, even if he’s not going to appear in a Blues uniform any more. They include the Drake Caggiula play he references above in his fourth Pro Reads, a drag-and-shoot on a 2-on-1 rush, as well as a multi-faceted sequence that includes his approach to post integration in two different situations: one behind the net and another above the goal line (and, as he notes makes a difference, one on his glove side and another from his blocker side) in his third Pro Read. His first Pro Read involved multiple deflections through traffic and advice on how to choose lanes around screens, and his second entry involved staring down Patrick Kane from the faceoff circle.

Each contains valuable advice, even if it’s in a uniform he’s unlikely to wear again.