Jacob Fowler deserves more starts for the Canadiens
Hours after being recalled from the AHL, goaltender Jacob Fowler made an immediate impact for the Montreal Canadiens, stopping 32 shots in a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators Wednesday night.
Fowler, who only made his NHL debut last December, has been arguably the Canadiens’ best goaltender, posting a 5-4-2 record with a .906 save percentage (SV%) and a 5-on-5 goals saved above expected (GSAx) of 5.5 in 11 appearances.
Montreal’s two other netminders, Jakub Dobes and Samuel Montembeault, have struggled in 2025-26. Both have registered a save percentage well below .900, and despite Dobes posting a 21-6-4 record, he hasn’t played well enough to solidify the starting job for the Habs.
On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Daily Faceoff managing editor Matt Larkin discuss Fowler’s win and if Canadiens’ head coach Martin St. Louis should give the 21-year-old more starts in the crease.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Forget his age or the inexperience, I think this guy needs to keep getting more cracks down the stretch from Martin St. Louis.
Matt Larkin: I couldn’t agree more, I think you have to ride the hot hand. I’ll give you three names: Ken Dryden, Cam Ward, Jordan Binnington. Those were three rookie goaltenders who got hot at the right time. They were trusted because they were the hot hand in a playoff situation, and the rest was history.
If you look at Fowler’s career trajectory, and if you asked someone a year ago who’s a top-five, top-three goaltending prospect in the game, you’d say Fowler. He’s going to be a star. We said this two years ago, as well. This is what he was supposed to be. I think that matters.
When a prospect has a pedigree and they start playing well, you can’t treat it as a flash in the pan. This is what he was drafted to do, this is what he was supposed to do. It’s happening, so you have to embrace it.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…
