Jake Allen: Molson Cup in October, no wins in November

Jake Allen was good in October. In fact, he won the Molson Cup.

That said, we wondered whether he’d hold up in November. After all, last year, he didn’t have a good November after having been good in the first month of the season.

And this season, history is repeating itself.

In October, Allen was good. He didn’t lose on a regular basis (three wins and an overtime loss to Toronto), and his numbers were interesting, even so: 2.63 average and .930 efficiency rate.

It was excellent.

But what about this year? Let’s just say, looking at his November numbers, Jake Allen must be happy to be singing a great Roommates song. Let’s assume he’s a Dédé fan for the sake of the argument.

Why do I say that?

Because in the 11th month of 2023, in five games, the Maritime native played five games. He finished four of them because we remember what happened against the Lightning.

The result? Five games, five losses. His 19 goals in less than 13 periods of play gave him an average of 4.55 for the month and an efficiency percentage of 87.6%. He gave up one puck in eight.

The Habs didn’t earn a single point in the standings with the veteran in front of the net in November.

We’ll agree that after winning October’s Molson Cup, a month that flew by, here’s Karl Tremblay, on the strength of his first star at the Bell Centre after his death, ahead of the goalie(and Josh Anderson) for the title in November.

To what extent does the ménage à trois, which prevents the goalie from sticking to consecutive poor performances, have a role to play in his performance? I wonder.

It’s one thing to play one game out of three when Carey Price is playing the other two, but quite another to do so when Samuel Montembeault and Cayden Primeau are sharing the other games.

Kent Hughes, who just extended Samuel Montembeault’s contract, must be aware that this is a factor. After all, nobody likes a threesome these days.

And inevitably, now that the Quebec goaltender is under contract, the Habs can more seriously consider the option of sending Cayden Primeau or Jake Allen elsewhere. Because no, I don’t see Monty leaving.

But right now, Allen isn’t helping his DG’s cause.

In brief

– Can’t wait to hear this.

– Big catch.

– Andre Dawson: his request hurts Expos fans. [JdeM]

– The Pistons didn’t win in November.[Insert Jake Allen joke here.]

The Pistons are currently 2-17 and on a 16-game losing streak. pic.twitter.com/5ZaneUVbxY

– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 1, 2023

– Listen now.

Friday 32 Thoughts news & information pod, plus newly named WHL Commissioner Dan Near. Links to your preferred platform – https://t.co/io7Mr1QEpm

– Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) December 1, 2023