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Youngsters set to take over NHL, Canadiens’ Jake Allen says

“In a few years, this will be a league dominated by 18- to 24-year-olds,” the goalie says about the trend he’s seen since his NHL career began in 2011.

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It’s a good thing Canadiens goaltender Jake Allen doesn’t pay much attention to statistics.

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Allen’s numbers aren’t great this season. He has a 3.42 goals-against average and an .895 save percentage, but the veteran isn’t alone.

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“This game has changed a lot since I started in 2011,” said Allen. “It’s faster, there’s more east-west play, more lateral movement. From an entertainment standpoint, it’s great for the fans, but it’s tough for goalies and defenses. The game is so fast and there are so many young players in this league with so much skill. In a few years, this will be a league dominated by 18- to 24-year-olds.”

“There was a time when a 3-1 lead was pretty safe, but now no lead is safe,” added Allen.

The Canadiens learned that on their recent western swing. They had a 4-0 lead in Vancouver, but wound up losing 7-6 in overtime.

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The Canadiens, who are back home to play the Los Angles Kings Saturday (7 p.m., CITY, SNE, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM) had a successful road trip with a 2-1-1 record and Allen picked up both wins.

He stopped 45 of 46 shots — a .978 save percentage — to lead the Canadiens to a 2-1 win in Calgary on Dec. 1 and stopped 31 of 33 shots — a .939 save percentage — in a 4-2 win in Seattle Tuesday.

In between, there was a less successful stop in Edmonton.

Allen gave up five goals on 22 shots, but he was dealing with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and an Edmonton power play that scored on three of its five opportunities.

Allen noted power plays have also changed during the past decade. There was a time, he said, when a team concentrated on getting the puck to the point for a big shot while two or three other players would try to create traffic in front of the net and look for rebounds. In today’s game, there is more creativity and teams are moving the puck more and looking for seam passes. The Canadiens have used this strategy to their advantage with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield finding each other with regularity.

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The practice Thursday was shorter than normal because the players were scheduled to make their annual visit to the Montreal Children’s Hospital, CHU Sainte-Justine and the Shriners Hospital for Children.

“We haven’t been able to visit the past two years and these visits put things in perspective,” said Allen. “We’re glad that we can bring some joy to these youngsters and give them little gifts.”

Defenseman David Savard and forwards Brendan Gallagher and Sean Monahan were absent from practice after missing Tuesday’s game in Seattle. There was no update on their injuries, although the team previously announced Gallagher would miss two weeks with a lower-body injury.

Wingers Jonathan Drouin and Mike Hoffman participated in practice in non-contact jerseys, which is an indication they are inching closer to a return.

The Canadiens will play four of their next five games at home before embarking on their holiday odyssey, which will see them play three road games before Christmas and four after the holiday. They will be out of town from Dec. 18 to Jan. 3 with a short break for Christmas.

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