NHL: Montreal Canadiens at Pittsburgh Penguins
Credit: Philip G. Pavely-Imagn Images

The Montreal Canadiens faced the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night, turning to rookie netminder Jacob Fowler in an attempt to get the team back on track.

Fowler came as advertised, stopping 36 of the 38 shots sent his way to secure a 4-2 win in his first career NHL start.

Let’s dive into the highlights!

An Oasis In A Goaltending Desert

Fowler epitomizes the idea that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. He doesn’t have to make many desperation saves because his positioning is almost always on point.

He wasn’t overly busy in the first period, but he made all four saves with the confidence of a 20-year veteran.

The Canadiens did much better from a defensive standpoint compared to most of their games in November and December, but more importantly, Fowler made the type of saves you’d expect from an NHL goaltender.

The very same casual saves that have been missing from Montreal’s goaltender repertoire this season.

He also rose to the challenge any time the Penguins took over the momentum, another critical factor that drives successful teams.

His stoic presence, perfect tracking, and excellent positioning were impossible to ignore.

I promise the goal is not to throw any shade Jakub Dobes or Samuel Montembeault’s way, but it’s fair to say Fowler’s play was a nice change of pace for the Montreal Canadiens.

It should also be noted that the Penguins were given seven powerplays, making Fowler’s assignment that much more difficult. All things considered, it was a fantastic NHL debut for the 21-year-old Florida native.

Fowler Effect

There’s something to be said about the contagious nature of confidence. We can’t give Fowler all the credit, but the team exuded the same level of confidence as their young netminder in the first period, resulting in one of the best 20-minute stretches of the season.

And it wasn’t just Nick Suzuki driving the charge, which is shocking, I know.

The bottom six actually looked engaged, leading to Alex Texier’s first goal with the Canadiens.

Believe it or not, the bottom six scored consecutive goals, via a great rush by Lane Hutson, and a good finish by veteran Brendan Gallagher.

I’d have to double-check, but I’m fairly certain this is the first time the Habs have received back-to-back goals from the bottom six since 1998.

The Rule Designed To Destroy Fun

After Cole Caufield made it 3-0 by scoring from yet another impossible angle, it seemed that rookie Owen Beck had scored his first career goal, a great moment for all involved.

Unfortunately, Josh Anderson was barely offside, which means the goal was called back.

Look, I know this will sound like sour grapes, but there are very few rules in the history of sports that actively attempt to destroy the most exciting plays, making the offside challenge the worst possible addition to the NHL since Sean Avery.

The NHL is the fastest sports league on earth, unless a coach decides he wants to challenge a goal because a player irrelevant to the scoring sequence may have been offside, necessitating a micrometer and review of Zapruder-quality footage to determine the goal-call after an eight-minute wait.

CATCH THE FEVER!

Back On Track

The Penguins eventually beat Fowler when Bryan Rust managed to shake his coverage, but the Habs took just 13 seconds to respond, via one of their best plays in transition this season.

Juraj Slafkovsky drove the charge, but it must be said that Oliver Kapanen has done a great job capitalizing on scoring chances this year. Say what you will about his 5v5 underlying numbers, Kapanen is scoring goals, as a rookie, on a team that always needs more secondary scoring.

The 4-0 goal was Kapanen’s ninth of the year, placing him firmly in second this season among Canadiens goalscorers.

Rookie Power

His performance was overshadowed by the excellent play from Fowler, Kapanen, or one of the other half-dozen rookies in the lineup, but full marks to Adam Engstrom for his outing versus the Penguins.

His excellent skating was evident, especially when he had to cover for his partner’s defensive mistakes.

He’s quietly making a smooth-skating case for a permanent job on Montreal’s blue line.

Hutson Doing Hutson Things

Even though Fowler had a great game, it must be said that he had a little help from his friends.

Hutson, in particular, came to his rescue late in the third period, stopping yet another goal via an unorthodox street-hockey style save.

The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Saturday, facing the Rangers in New York. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 pm ET.

All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick.

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By Marc Dumont
Marc has been covering the Habs for over a decade. He previously worked for Journal Metro, The Athletic, The ... More about Marc Dumont

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