Story by
Jake Allen ready for whatever Devils need with Connor Hellebuyck’s arrival
- Story by
- Jake Allen ready for whatever Devils need with Connor Hellebuyck’s arrival
Jake Allenhas been in this position before.
He knows that his role is about to change significantly with the Devils bringing in All-Star starter Connor Hellebuyckto take things over between the pipes.
Advertisement
The veteran understands that, and he's confident he'll be ready for whatever the team throws his way.
"Whatever they need, whatever Connor needs," Allen said. "Obviously it's going to take a little bit of time to get going here, but I've never in my career had a set number of games — I can play whenever he needs a night off or things like that.
"Like I said earlier in the year, I've held just about every position in the league, from a tandem to the starter to a glorified backup — nothing is new to me, I'll be ready to go."
Allen has been a bit up-and-down working in tandem with Nico Dawsthus far this season, playing to a 2.84 GAA and .886 save percentage over his first seven appearances.
Advertisement
Th 36-year-old performed well enough to earn himself the victory in five of those, though, including each of his last two against the high-powered Kings and Avalanche.
With Daws being shipped to Winnipeg in the deal, Allen will continue to be the guy leading the way for New Jersey until Hellebuyck is ready to make his highly-anticipated debut.
Having been serving a suspension Hellebuyck hasn't played in an NHL since April 13, but he doesn't expect it to be long before he finds his legs again.
"I don't think, at this point in my career, it's going to take long," he said. "With that being said, I think that's just one of those challenges — you adapt, and you adapt quick, but I thankfully have some experience under my belt."
