The last time the Montreal Canadiens played the Toronto Maple Leafs, Jake Allen stood on his head to earn his team the win. He had a fantastic start to Saturday night’s rematch, but unfortunately had to leave the game quite early after the first Auston Matthews goal.
Allen had stretched out quite a bit to make an initial save before Matthews pounced on the rebound, and looked to be in serious discomfort on his way off the ice.
Jake Allen looks done for the night after this save and subsequent save attempt on the first Matthews goal. pic.twitter.com/LTPynz8Gdz
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) April 9, 2022
Eric Engels caught up with Allen after the game, at which time he acknowledged this season has been a complete nightmare for him, not on the ice, but rather on the injury front.
Just bumped into Jake Allen, who’s quite frustrated about getting hurt again tonight. “Season from hell,” he said. This guy has given it his all, and this is a tough break.
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) April 10, 2022
You have to feel for Allen at this point, because he’s been playing excellent hockey whenever he is healthy and called upon. Even when facing the likes of Florida, Toronto, and Tampa Bay recently, he’s kept things close even when getting shelled with 40-plus shots. He’s given you about the best results you can possibly expect with the current Canadiens roster.
And this new injury presents a bit of a conundrum for that roster. Carey Price seems close to returning, but the last thing this team needs to do is rush their franchise goaltender back to action in a lottery season. They could also call someone up from Laval, but with the Rocket in a playoff race, pulling a netminder from their ranks could impact them getting in.
For now, it stands to reason that Samuel Montembeault will own the Habs crease, and we’ll have to wait for news on the severity of Allen’s injury.
Click the play button below to listen to your full Bottom Six Minutes, also available via your podcast platform of choice. Next up will be the Winnipeg Jets on Monday night at the Bell Centre.
Podcast Highlights
Goal Caufield, baby
Goal Caufield strikes again pic.twitter.com/Vnv4HXIxQI
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) April 10, 2022
This line hold by Caufield is what really allowed that goal to happen. pic.twitter.com/LI5XNZzchf
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) April 10, 2022
Josh Anderson is a man. A strong man.
Josh Anderson is a grown ass man dot gif pic.twitter.com/PKtrGYOB09
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) April 10, 2022
