“You can definitely get your feelings hurt, but you can only do that for so long. You have to pick yourself up and make sure you’re ready to go. If it’s the end of a season, you have to make sure that you work that much harder for the next year so that you don’t get overlooked. My wife told me a quote from Steve Martin, ‘Be so good that they can’t ignore you.’ It doesn’t matter what’s going on around you, just be so good, they can’t ignore you.”

The Blues can’t ignore Elliott. After being passed over again last season, there was no sulking in the summer — only preparation. He returned this season to what was described as “open competition,” but that was quickly closed when Allen grabbed hold of the No. 1 job. That limited Elliott to just eight appearances in a 35-game span from late October to early January. It wasn’t until Allen went down with a knee injury Jan. 8 that another opportunity was born.

In 26 starts since, interrupted by his own knee injury, Elliott has gone 18-4-2, setting a franchise record with 11 consecutive victories. It featured three consecutive shutouts and a personal streak of 198 minutes, 12 seconds of scoreless play. He was establishing himself as the favorite to be the playoff starter when Allen succumbed to a second injury, confirming Elliott’s assignment.