Montreal Canadiens: Jake Allen lights out in Habs debut

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jake Allen was rock solid in his debut for the Habs

Newcomer Jake Allen led the Canadiens to a 3-1 victory Monday night at Rogers Place in Edmonton. It was Allen’s first start for the Habs since being acquired from St.Louis in the offseason. The new backup produced a stellar performance, turning away 25 of the 26 shots coming his way. His outing was good for a .962 save percentage, first star honors on the night, and his first win in a Habs uniform.

Allen, a native of Fredericton New Brunswick, was acquired to take some of the workload off of Carey Price. With a three game series coming up against Vancouver and a dominant performance from Price Saturday night against the Oilers, Allen was called upon by Claude Julien. Allen answered the call, and was calm, cool, and collected in the net, similar to his counterpart in Price.

The first period was the busiest of the three for Allen. Edmonton started the game with a heavy forecheck, which was to be expected after the 5-1 loss to the Canadiens on Saturday. The Oilers outshot Montreal 12-6 in the period, and had ample opportunities on the three power plays they were given. Allen stood tall in the net, and held the Oilers scoreless in the first, allowing the Canadiens to settle into the game and take a 1-0 lead.

More from Habs News

• Montreal Canadiens: Biggest Questions Going Into 2023-24
• Montreal Canadiens: Quentin Miller’s Poise And Confidence Fuel His Game
• Montreal Canadiens: Laval Rocket Top Defence Pair Could Be Set
• Montreal Canadiens: Worst Move Of The Pierre Gauthier Era
• Montreal Canadiens: Could Casey DeSmith End Up In Colorado?

Montreal came out with speed and resilience in the second period and outshot the oilers 18-7. Although Allen wasn’t as busy in the second, he turned away all the shots he faced, and stymied the Oilers on two more power plays.

The third period was Allen’s best, as he kicked aside 6 of the 7 shots sent his way, while dealing with another two Oilers’ power plays. The Habs were 7-for-7 on the penalty kill throughout the game, led by Allen. The one shot that got past Allen was a perfectly placed wrister on a breakaway from Drew Shore in the final minutes of the third.

After the game Allen has this to say about his debut:

“It is a little bit more special to be able to put this sweater on for the third time, but for my real first game. I was really looking forward to playing the first game with the Canadiens logo on my chest and to be able to get a win is huge, the guys played great. Carry it over to Vancouver”

“It was nice to get a little bit of action in the first, it has been a little while since real game action and I got into right away and the guys did a great job from there.”

“The goal for me coming into here this season was to make Carey be the best goalie he can be, and when he is on his game he is the best in the world. My job is to come in here and collect points as well.”

Look for Allen to start one of the games in Vancouver, as the Canadiens will face the Canucks three times in a span of four days.