Elliott Phones Home

It's been quite the ride for Blues goalie Brian Elliott this season. He signed a two-way contract with St. Louis after a tough season which he split between Ottawa and Colorado after being dealt to the Avs late in the season. Elliott came in, won the backup job from Ben Bishop, who also played well in the preseason, and he hasn't looked back since.

Starting netminder Jaroslav Halak got off to a rocky start and Elliott was there to save the day, so much so, that when friends asked me what goalie was playing that night and I responded that Elliott was starting, they would say things like,"Oh good, we'll win tonight." That's a pretty high confidence level to have with a backup goalie. Elliott's play was so good that it took away from the fact that Halak wasn't playing up to his potential and it allowed Halak to get his game together. Halak now is 7-0-3 in his last ten starts and if the Blues could score in a shootout, it would be even better. I don't want to give Elliott all the credit for Halak's success, as Jaro certainly has been making lots of saves, many of them quality ones. However, Elliott's stellar play took pressure of Halak and now it doesn't seem to matter which goalie Hitchcock starts, as the Blues will have a solid backbone in either player.

 For a couple of weeks, Elliott ranked number one in the league in G.A.A, save percentage, and shutouts. He still remains second in all of those categories (1.62 G.A.A., .940 SV%, and five SO) after a couple of bumpy games in Detroit (not exactly easy assignments), but he rebounded with a shutout on Saturday night against Colorado. The stat I find most impressive is easily the shutouts, as the only goalie he trails, the Kings' Jonathan Quick, has started in 35 games (sixth most in the league) but Elliott has only started 20 (29th most in the league).

Elliott would've played in Montreal on Tuesday, earning the start with Saturday's shutout, but head coach Ken Hitchcock opted to give Halak the start, as it was his first game back in the Bell Centre since being dealt to the Blues in the summer of 2010. Halak didn't disappoint in his return home, shutting out the Canadiens while making some tremendous saves, including the one shown in the video below, against a shorthanded breakaway. The video also shows him receiving a standing ovation from the Habs fans as he was leaving the ice.

That is probably the most impressed I've ever been with an opponent's fans. Montreal, you have some real class. Chris Pronger (when healthy) still comes into St. Louis and gets booed, which I'll never understand. He was traded when he would have rather stayed with the Blues, has never badmouthed the team that I've heard about, and is a great overall hockey player. To each their own, I suppose.

The Blues play Ottawa in early February, but Elliott's homecoming will happen a bit sooner due to his stellar play. It was announced today that he will be the lone representative for the Blues in the All-Star Game, barring injury to another player that was already selected. The Blues do rank second in the west right now and have a chance to slide into first with a win tonight over Vancouver, but most of the team's wins have occurred with different players stepping up each night. Alex Steen could've been considered as he was one of the team's scoring leaders before missing the past two weeks, as could David Backes, who represented the team at the game last season and currently leads the Blues in goals. However, the reality is no one on this club, aside from Elliott, really has "all-star" numbers. But that's just fine, as I'd much rather watch a team with incredible depth that should claim its first playoff berth in three seasons than a team with one superstar who is a lock to make the NHL All-Star Game.