Habs Blow Multiple Leads And Lose 5-4 In OT to The Rangers

Fowler stopped 23 of the 28 shots he faced on Saturday, but of the 5 goals he allowed, only 2 are likely ones that he would have wanted back. The reality is, Fowler didn’t play horribly, but he showed that he is human and likely still needs development before he’s ready to take over the starting job in Montreal. For now, the Habs need to consider what is best for Fowler’s development. This could be to return him to Laval within the next week so he can continue to refine his goaltending abilities.

The Habs got off to a great start in the first period, with a goal by Zack Bolduc to open the scoring 12:41 into the game. Bolduc’s goal came as a result of a Nick Suzuki shot-pass in the slot to Bolduc, who tipped the puck past Igor Shesterkin.

A minute and a half later, Arber Xhekaj would fire a seeing-eye shot through traffic that would get the Habs to double their lead with his first goal of the season.

Then two minutes after that, Jake Evans would join the goal parade by ripping a shot from inside the left faceoff circle to beat Shesterkin for the 3rd time in about 3 and a half minutes. Lane Hutson set up the goal from behind the net as he put the puck right on Evans’s stick with a no-look pass. Both Xhekaj and Evans, who were out of the lineup on Thursday, made their return to the lineup on Saturday, scoring their goals.

Unfortunately, that’s where the 1st period goals for the Habs would end and where they would begin for the Rangers within the last 1:15 of the opening frame. The first goal was by Noah Laba, who jammed home a power play marker in front of the net with 1:12 left in the period to get the Rangers on the board.

Only 19 seconds later, Habs defenseman Noah Dobson was called for holding Artemi Panarin on a breakaway, earning the Rangers forward a penalty shot on Fowler. On the penalty shot, Panarin took a perfectly placed shot just above Fowler’s blocker, which brought the Rangers within 1 goal after 20 minutes of play. The fact that Panarin was given a penalty shot was somewhat controversial, as Dobson barely held him back on the play.

Fortunately, the Habs would restore their 2-goal lead, with a Josh Anderson goal 3:17 into the 2nd period. Anderson ripped a perfectly placed shot from the slot thanks to Hutson feeding him the puck from along the boards. The Canadiens looked for a moment like they would regain control of the game, but unfortunately, that wouldn’t be the case.

The 3rd goal for the Rangers was one of the two goals that were tough for Fowler to give up, but it’s going to be a learning experience for Fowler as he continues to grow as a netminder. Will Cuylle banked a shot off Fowler’s stick and into the net from behind the net. Cuylle essentially took advantage of Fowler leaving a bit of space between his body and the post to sneak the puck off him and in. This is something that Cole Caufield has mastered and many others are attempting to do around the league.

Only 36 seconds later, J.T. Miller picked the puck up off a rebound and snuck the puck in through Fowler’s five-hole to tie the game up at 4. Of all the goals allowed by Fowler on the night, this one was likely the one that hurt the team the most, as if he hadn’t opened his five-hole with Miller in front of the net, it likely wouldn’t have happened.

After the Rangers had come back to tie the game, they took control of the game for the most part, and the Canadiens would struggle with turnovers that led to many Rangers chances, but Fowler stayed solid for most of the 3rd period. It wasn’t until Sam Carrick appeared to have beaten Fowler midway through the 3rd period that the rookie let him get past him. However, Carrick had kicked the puck into the net, so the goal was called back, and both teams remained tied until overtime.

In OT, the Canadiens’ chance for the win came on an Oliver Kapanen breakaway, where he missed the net. Unfortunately, Evans was called for a slash during the overtime period, which is often seen as a death sentence for any team in overtime to take a penalty. To make matters worse, it was the Canadiens’ best faceoff man who got the penalty. On the ensuing Rangers power play, Miller would score the game winner off a one-timed shot from the right circle to win the game for the Rangers.

It wasn’t an easy night for the rookie goaltender, as he wasn’t able to bail his team out like on Thursday, but it’s clear Fowler has a lot of good intangibles that will make him a great NHL starter someday, but that day may not be just yet.

The Habs will be back at home on Sunday to host Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers. It will be interesting to see who gets the start between Samuel Montembeault and Jakub Dobes, as both had tough performances during Tuesday’s game where the Habs lost 6-1, leading to the team running with Fowler ever since.

Who would you play in nets against the Oilers tonight?