1. ALLEN’S BIG BREAK
The Blues stuck with Ryan Miller through the postseason last year, even when backup Brian Elliott had put up strong numbers. This year, coach Ken Hitchcock is taking a chance and going with rookie Jake Allen in goal, at least for Game 1, instead of the more experienced Elliott. Allen has just 67 seconds of NHL postseason experience, though he has far more in the American Hockey League and in juniors and played in the gold-medal game at the 2010 world junior tournament. The Blues turned to Allen down the stretch and he gave them all they could have hoped for, a 2-1 record and a 1.