Jacob Fowler stopped all 30 shots in regulation and overtime, then denied six Detroit shooters in a shootout to secure a 1-0 victory for the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. The 21-year-old goaltender delivered his second career shutout at the Bell Centre, snapping a three-game losing streak and lifting the team’s record to 2-2-1 with their first home win of the season.
A Historic Milestone Between the Pipes
Fowler’s performance set a unique standard in franchise history. A Winning Habit reported that he became the first Canadiens goaltender to stop every shot faced from regulation through a shootout since the NHL introduced the tiebreaker format in the 2005-06-season. At 21 years and 320 days old, NHL.com noted that Fowler joined an elite club as the fifth-youngest goaltender in franchise history to record multiple shutouts, sitting alongside Carey Price, Jocelyn Thibault, Jaroslav Halak, and Patrick Roy. While Price once stopped eight shooters in a 4-3 shootout win on Oct. 27, 2007, Fowler’s six consecutive saves in the tiebreaker marked the second-most shootout attempts faced without allowing a goal in team history. A Winning Habit noted that the feat stands alone in the modern era, adding, We’ll never know if Dryden, Plante, the Gumper or Roy would have done it.
Video Reviews and Offensive Frustration
The low-scoring affair was defined by near-misses and officiating reversals. CP24 reported that three goals were overturned by video review, starting with Cole Caufield’s attempt at 1:16 of the first period, which was ruled not to have crossed the goal line. A second-period goal by Zachary Bolduc was subsequently waved off for goaltender interference by Jake Evans, and an apparent overtime winner from Alexandre Texier was called back due to an offside violation at 2:37 of the extra frame. It can get frustrating when you think you have a goal and you take the lead, and the review takes a while,
Montreal forward Nick Suzuki said.
The Bell Centre Greets Dylan Larkin
Detroit played its first road game of the season, arriving in Montreal following a 6-3 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Friday, and struggled to crack Fowler despite putting 30 shots on goal. The hostile environment also targeted Detroit forward Dylan Larkin with loud “We want Larkin!” chants throughout his shifts. Larkin recently requested a trade and relinquished his captaincy. Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond added, Obviously a bit of a special start to the game, that long break, but I thought once we found our legs and got going we played some good hockey.
Securing the First Home Victory
Fowler then secured the win by stopping Nate Danielson. It’s hard to line back up for a face-off after thinking you win the game in front of 20,000 people,
Fowler said, as quoted by NHL.com. A lot of credit to the boys for staying resilient.
Balancing Development and Roster Strategy
A Winning Habit highlighted the need to balance Fowler’s high-ceiling performances with consistent team development. Fowler had been recalled from the Laval Rocket of the American Hockey League just three days prior. The return of defenseman Kaiden Guhle to the lineup also provided a significant boost to the team’s defensive stability.
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