Jake Allen Jersey Card

It's been a tough summer for the St. Louis Blues, as the injuries have been piling up in a way that is reminiscent of last year's Dallas Stars. That is the sole reason why I see them failing to make the playoffs this year, not goaltending, because I do believe Jake Allen has finally "arrived" as a true #1 goalie.

His performance in last year's playoffs was terrific, as he posted a 1.96 GAA and .935 save percentage to go with a 6-5 record in 11 games. If you read that the way you should, his team did not match up in the second round and was swept, giving him an 0-4 record against the Nashville Predators, meaning despite those four straight losses, he was able to let in fewer than two goals a game on average. He's actually the sole reason why St. Louis made it out of the first round.

His play in the postseason was equal to what he'd shown in the past three years in regular-season play, in which he was good enough for the Blues to let All-Star and Jennings Trophy winner Brian Elliott go in the summer of 2016:

From HockeyDB

Now 27 years old, there is no need to worry about him for the next seven years; like any goalie, he will likely have one season of sub-par play, but he'll bounce right back - such is the nature of the beast.

Here he is wearing the Blues' beautiful alternate uniform, on card #GJ-JA from Upper Deck's 2016-17 Series 1 collection and UD Game Jersey sub-set:

It features a matching game-worn jersey swatch.