St. Louis Blues goalie Jake Allen went through a rough stretch in January. After starting off the calendar year with a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks, the 26-year-old went on to allow a minimum of 3 goals in six of his next seven starts, and was pulled in three straight games and a total of four during that span.
However, February has been a completely different story for Allen. Since February 2, the Blues goalie has won four of his last five starts, including a 30-save shutout victory over the Ottawa Senators on February 7. Sometimes a change in routine or pre-game activities can get players out of a slump, other times it’s a personal touch from a loyal fan that helps them turn things around.
On January 30, Allen received a tweet from a Blues fan which included a special photo and a hand-written letter from his five-year-old son, who absolutely admires Allen.
The letter reads:
Dear Jake Allen, you are my favorite player. I hope you win tonight. I know you can do it. You're a great goalie. Love, Mason. I'm five years old.
It turns out that the letter from five-year-old Mason hit the right spot and helped Allen bounce back from one of the worst skids in his young career. Allen thanked Mason by inviting him out to practice earlier this week and surprised him with one of his sticks with a special message on it, a mask and even signed his jersey.
Here’s the message Allen wrote on the stick.
We always hear about athletes changing lives on their spare time, but it turns out fans do the same for professional athletes.
(H/T Twitter/StLouisBlues)
