Jacob Fowler Has Been Dominant For The Canadiens

With his shutout on Tuesday night, Fowler etched himself into the Montreal Canadiens history books. His 46 saves were the third-most ever recorded in a shutout by a Canadiens netminder and the most by a rookie goaltender. He also becomes the third-youngest Canadiens goaltender to reach three career shutouts at 21 years old and 337 days behind only Carey Price (20 years old and 229 days) and Jocelyn Thibault (21 years old and 31 days). The Canadiens rookie netminder has taken the league by a storm over the last few weeks, being one of the top goaltenders in the league. 

Fowler has cemented himself into the conversation as a legitimate Calder Trophy candidate for NHL Rookie of the Year with his recent performances. Immediately after Tuesday’s game, my colleague Jimmy Murphy urged fans on Twitter to bet on Fowler’s odds of winning the Calder Trophy at +2000, but his odds at Fanduel Canada have quickly skyrocketed to +250 as the co-favourite with Toronto Maple Leafs forward Gavin McKenna. It may be early in the season, but if, as Murphy expects, Fowler continues to put up great performances throughout the season; there is a good chance he remains a favourite to be named the Rookie of the Year. According to MoneyPuck.com, Fowler currently leads all goalies with a Goals Above Expected of 10.1. 

What makes Fowler so good is that he is such a calming presence in his crease, similar to former Canadiens superstar Carey Price. In fact, Price said earlier in 2026 that he sees a lot of himself in Fowler. The calming presence with Fowler is mainly due to how great he positions himself in his net, making it easy for him to track the puck very well. He will make a big exciting save by sliding across his crease at times, but usually with the way he is positioned, he won’t need to do that to stop the puck. This is a much more effective method for sustainable success than the chaotic style that fellow Canadiens netminder Jakub Dobes often plays with. Now, this isn’t a shot at Dobes; he should eventually bounce back from his struggles thanks to how hard he works, but his overall game isn’t built to succeed the way Fowler’s does.

The Midwestern road trip was expected to be tough for the Canadiens considering how captain and leading scorer Nick Suzuki went down with a hand injury after blocking a shot against the San Jose Sharks last week, but thanks to Fowler, the Canadiens will walk away from their trip with a minimum of six out of possible eight points. When the Canadiens needed someone to step up most for their captain, it turned out that a 21-year-old rookie goaltender was the guy that was able to get it done. With that being said, the days of Jacob Fowler returning to the AHL when everyone is healthy should be over, as he’s earned himself the starting job with the Montreal Canadiens.