Lariviere: Jacob Fowler Needs To Start On Thursday

Rather than help their goalie by playing good defense on the Jets’ top players such as forward Kyle Connor, the Canadiens skaters had left him wide open to receive a pass in the slot, which would beat Fowler. Looking at the play, Juraj Slafkovsky was nowhere near where he should have been on Connor’s goal. If Slafkovsky would have covered Connor, maybe the third goal wouldn’t have happened.

Just 27 seconds later, Connor would get too much room off a faceoff, which allowed him to snipe the tying goal past Fowler. All the Canadiens needed was slightly better defense around Fowler on Tuesday night, and they likely would have won, but instead he got overworked by the amount of shots he teammates allowed. The one argument against playing Fowler on Thursday would be that he’s overworked but the 21-year-old has a day to rest in between games and being at home will allow him to get his energy back quicker, which means fatigue shouldn’t be an issue against the Mammoth.

On any other night with how bad the players in front of Fowler played, a loser point would be a positive to look at, but the way the Montreal Canadiens collapsed was historical and not something that can be acceptable going forward. The team as a whole will be looking to bounce back from this on Thursday night against the Utah Mammoth, but based on how Fowler left the ice, there might likely not be any player that will want to come back harder the next game than him.

Sitting on the willingness to bounce back with another stellar performance could result in hurting Fowler’s game, as he would need to have that game on his mind for a longer period of time if his next start is only on Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ironically, if Fowler and the Canadiens walked away from Tuesday night with a win, Dobes would likely be the better option for Thursday night, but now with Fowler having revenge on his mind ahead of his next start, it would be a good idea to give him that game right away. Not to mention the last time Fowler came back from a loss with a blown lead, he followed it up with a shutout victory against the Detroit Red Wings. Meanwhile, Dobes already had a good game against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the season opener; therefore, giving him Saturday’s game against them for his weekly game could be smart. 

At the end of the day, Tuesday’s loss was not on Fowler, as he was left out to dry by bad defensive coverage and avoidable mistakes by the players in front of him. Fowler finished the game with 42 saves on 47 shots, which gave him a respectable .893 save percentage despite allowing five goals. As a result, playing Fowler the next game could be a chance for not only him to get a better result but also the players in front of him to prove they can bounce back for him.