Canadiens goalie Jacob Fowler to make NHL debut against Pittsburgh

As the Montreal Canadiens‘ woes between the pipes continue, the team is turning to promising rookie Jacob Fowler to make his NHL debut in Thursday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The team’s duo of Jakub Dobes and Sam Montembeault has handled all 29 of the team’s games so far this season with concerning results.

In his 17 appearances, Dobes has gone 10-5-2 with a 3.15 goals against average and a .887 save percentage. Montembeault, who started the year on the fringes of making the cut for Team Canada at the Winter Olympics, has been even worse, posting a 3.65 GAA and .857 SV% to go with a 5-6-1 record.

Head coach Martin St. Louis and the organization have made the call to give Fowler a chance at the unusually young age of 21, but he has earned the opportunity with his play in the AHL.

In 15 appearances for the Laval Rocket, Fowler owns a .919 SV% and 2.09 GAA. He’s also recorded three shutouts. A native of Florida, Fowler was the team’s choice at No. 69 overall in the third round of the 2023 NHL Draft.

He was the sixth goaltender off the board in that draft, but he’ll be the first one to make an NHL appearance when he takes the ice on Thursday. While there have been concerns over the team’s defensive play in front of the net minders, the numbers suggest that Montreal has created more of a middle-of-the-road defensive environment for their goalies than a disastrous one. The Habs rank 21st in the NHL in expected goals against rate at 5-on-5 and 23rd in high danger chances against per 60 minutes.

After starting the campaign on a hot streak, Montreal has slid down the standings a bit. They currently own a 15-11-3 record which has them in fourth place in the Atlantic Division behind Detroit, Boston and Tampa Bay.