Jake Allen Montreal Pro-Read 4
Positioning and Movement Based on Threat Assessment
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Jake Allen was a big reason Montreal even made the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, and with Carey Price coming off knee surgery going into a condensed season after last year’s run to the Cup Final, the 31-year-old will be key to Canadiens success again this season.
So, as the off-season winds down, we go back to Allen for another video breakdown session, his 12th overall and fourth wearing the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge. It’s another reminder why Allen is the most prolific Pro Reads goalie at InGoal: He delivers quality that makes us crave quantity.
Allen’s first Pro Reads with the Canadiens featured great advice on the importance of being comfortable on your posts, the second installment continued along that theme but with more threat options, and the third focused on splitting the ice to create an easy read.
THE SCENARIO
This time Allen is taking a closer look at what starts s a 4-on-3 rush against the Calgary Flames. As this attack crosses the blue line (below), what kind of early information are you looking for?
With the Flames forwards attacking the line with speed, what kind of depth would you chose?
As the play gets deeper into the zone, the situation changes, with Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson up in the rush but in a relatively harmless position in the corner? Taking a look at this freeze frame below, who is the most dangerous player on the ice at this point?
THE SAVE
Now let’s take a look at the entire video to see how it played out, and whether you correctly identified the most dangerous threat in the freeze frame above.
Watch Jake Allen break down the full video for you
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- Allen breaks down his save on a 4-on-3 rush against the Calgary Flames, where the most dangerous threat turned out to be his own defenseman Joel Edmundson, not the expected back-door option.
- Avoid overloading toward the back-door man too early — if Allen commits too big anticipating the puck reaching Mangiapane, he gets caught moving when the deflection changes the play.
- Identify unexpected threats on rush chances: Andersson's hope pass from the corner deflecting off Edmundson's skate shows why goalies must track the puck through traffic before committing to a push.
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