Allen stopped all 24 shots that he faced in the Blues 2-0 win over the Ducks last Thursday. Allen has gone 2-1-0 with a 1.34 GAA and .944 SV% in three starts this season. Brian Elliott has been great as well, but Allen is forcing the Blues to play him. Tonight, he faces a Devils team who have won three of their last four.

What a difference a year makes for Daniel Sedin, as the 33-year old along with his brother Henrik have re-discovered their scoring touch under new coach Willie Desjardins. Daniel's overtime game-winner off a precise feed from Henrik was a thing of beauty, but something fantasy owners had grown accustomed too over the years. Then, coach Tortorella came into town last season and Daniel's numbers slipped down to levels way below his offensive standards, scoring just 47 points in 73 games. With "Torts" out and "Willie" in, the Sedins are revitalized again and should easily be looking at 70+ point numbers as they get back to what they do best: score. Daniel's goal last night was only his third of the season but he has collected 12 points in 10 games. Look for him to comfortably stay close to that pace, as the brothers are locked in as must-starts again. Two great signs emerged for the Colorado Avalanche in their huge 5-0 romp of the Islanders: First, Nathan McKinnon led the offense with two goals, his first two of the season. Sophomore slumps demoralize many lesser players, but only only temporarily derail the great stars in the making. Such is the case of McKinnon who has only 6 points in 11 games, but looked like one of the NHL's true up-and-coming elite forwards last night. Don't fret fantasy owners; Nathan and company will be scoring in bunches very soon. Also, the "doughnut" put on the board by Semyon Varlamov came in the form of 40 saves, as he keeps excelling in the crease with just three goals allowed over his last three starts. He hasn't been the problem for the Avalanche during their poor start, so get him in your starting line-ups if you haven't already. Colorado faces better times ahead... Huge night for Steven Stamkos as the electrifying Lightning winger scored two goals and added a helper to improve his numbers to 12 points in 10 games. His eight goals on the year put him on a 60-goal pace, which is exactly what we expect from the NHL's best pure goal scorer. Valtteri Filppula also "wowed" the crowd with three assists and is on more of a sustainable pace with seven points in 10 games. Coming off a 58-point campaign for the 'Bolts, this underrated fantasy asset is probably sitting on a few waiver wires. Grab'em if you need offensive help, as he is getting plenty of power-play time alongside Stamkos.. One start after giving up five third-period goals to the Rangers at MSG, Darcy Kuemper was back to his winning ways as he turned aside 25 of 28 ...

Allen surrendered three goals on 22 shots in a 4-1 loss to Vancouver last Thursday. It was Allen's first loss of the season and he now sits at 1-1-0 with a 2.01 GAA and .915 SV%. The Blues team defense will help both Allen and Brian Elliott's numbers all season. He draws a tough matchup vs. the Ducks, but the Blues should be able to slow them down.

Allen will make his season debut on Saturday vs. the Coyotes. Allen went 9-4-0 with a 2.46 GAA and .905 SV% in 15 games with the Blues. He will be a full-time NHLer after spending four years in the AHL. He makes for a nice start against an average Coyotes offence.

You can probably expect the Blues to contend once again for the Western Conference title as Head Coach Ken Hitchcock will have his team ready and raring to go come opening night. They signed free agent C Paul Stastny to strengthen their team down the middle and decided to give Brian Elliott the chance to backstop the team on a full time basis. Will the subtractions and additions be enough to make it to the Cup Finals?  That's why they play the game. GOALIES There is no denying that Elliott possesses the talent to be a number 1 goaltender in the NHL, but it took a while for a team to finally give him that chance. All he has done while playing under Hitchcock is post GAA of 1.56, 2.28 and 1.96, so you can see he deserves the opportunity to carry the load.  The team has put so much faith in Elliott, that they let Jaroslav Halak walk and gave the backup role to Jake Allen. You too should put your faith in Elliott to carry your fantasy hockey team this season.  After all, he has performed consistently over the past few years. DEFENSE The Blues possess two solid offensive d-men in Alex Pietrangelo and Kevin Shattenkirk, both capable of being any team's number 1 blueliner. They are so similar that you can call them 1A and 1B and both are entering their prime years at 24 and 25 respectively.  Jay Bouwmeester has been a nice addition the over the past two years and should contribute as well as provide solid defense in front of Elliott and Allen. Jordan Leopold and Carl Gunnarsson, coming over from Toronto in June, give the Blues solid, veteran depth on the back end. FORWARDS St. Louis can drive the fantasy poolie crazy with their depth of forwards and how Hitchcock rotates his lines so they stay fresh. One line will be hot for a 2-week stretch and then it's a different line taking over the offensive responsibilities, thereby keeping other teams on their heels.  Players like David Backes, T.J. Oshie, Jaden Schwartz, Alexander Steen, and Vladimir Tarasenko would be counted on more so on other teams than they are in Hitchcock's system, but it's this system that keeps all the forwards fresh throughout the long season. The addition of Stastny reinforces that depth and makes all the forwards legitimate candidates to get 50+ points across the board.  Steen had himself a career year where he eclipsed his previous high of 51 in 2010-2011 with St. Louis by 11 points. Perhaps a pullback to the 50+ range is more appropriate.  Also factoring into that equation might be...

Thursday Thoughts I hear that the St. Louis Blues will now go back the goalie platoon system after the Ryan Miller experiment failed. Elliott has proven himself, but I though the whole point of bringing Miller in was to get that hard-core experienced goalie in net?  Jake Allen is still unproven.  Good, but unproven. It's a shame that Carey Price isn't able to go this series. IT would've been great to see the two goaltenders duel it out again like in Socchi. Offer sheets just may be in vogue this summer. The Canadiens fought so hard to get that 1-0 lead the other night to only have it wiped away 17 seconds later. That was a cruel dagger.  Lundqvist may be lucky, but he is one of the top 3 goaltenders in the NHL right now, don't forget that. I went to bed after 2 periods last night because I haven't been feeling well. I wasn't exactly convinced Chicago was going to go 2 up in the series, but what a storm by the Kings scoring 5 in the third! Jeff Carter can be dangerous at times, can't he? I kinda liked how evenly spaced those 5 goals were scored last night. Like twisting the dagger a little bit at a time. Montreal needs to reach deep to get back into the series tonight. Maybe sprinkled with some luck? It will be interesting to see who gets traded away at the NHL Entry Draft as some teams want to get to the next level, while others are looking to retool after a disappointing showing. Has anyone noticed the game that Chris Kreider has brought to the Rangers in this series? His speed alone is killing the Habs. Having a night off from hockey now and then is alright, but I'm not condoning it mind you. Chicago is closest thing to a dynasty lately. Maybe the Kings if they get by the Blackhawks. That's all for today...see you next week!

Allen, 23, has dressed in 23 games for Chicago this season, ranking fourth among all AHL goalies with 14 wins (14-7-2) while his 2.17 GAA ranks third and his .922 SV% is 10th best. His demotion to the AHL means that Jaroslav Halak is back to full health and will suit up on Tuesday, whether as the start or the back-up.

Allen will serve as Brian Elliott's back-up tonight with Jaroslav Halak still under the weather. Allen has dressed in 23 games for Chicago this season, sharing fourth among all AHL goalies with 14 wins (14-7-2), while his 2.17 GAA ranks sixth and his .922 SV% is 11th best.

Allen has appeared in 23 games with the Wolves this season, recording a 14-7-0 record. He has a 2.17 GAA to go along with a .922 SV% and two shutouts. He made his regular season NHL debut in 2012-13, going 9-4-0 in 15 appearances. In his NHL career, Allen has a 2.46 GAA, a .905 SV% and one shutout. WIth Jaroslav Halak sick, Allen may backup Brian Elliott tonight.