Allen chased twice by Capitals; pulled for 3rd straight game

It was a case of deja vu in more ways than one for Jake Allen on Thursday night.

The St. Louis Blues goaltender was pulled twice against the Washington Capitals, marking the third consecutive game and fourth in the last six that he's been removed for poor performance.

Allen gave up two goals on the first three shots he faced, and he was replaced by Carter Hutton midway through the first period. Hutton stopped a single shot, and Allen was then put back in by Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock.

The yo-yo act didn't exactly work, though. Allen allowed two more goals on seven additional shots after returning to the game, and Hitchcock pulled him for Hutton once again.

The comedy of errors continued when Hutton surrendered a Marcus Johansson goal on his first shot after coming back in, giving the Capitals a 5-1 lead, and Washington made it 6-1 on a goal by Justin Williams later in the second period.

St. Louis' goaltending is among the worst the NHL has seen over the last decade or so.

As for Allen, he hasn't won a game since the Winter Classic on Jan. 2, and he hasn't made it to the halfway point of a game since a loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Jan. 5.