The ups and downs of Jacob Fowler

But it’s worth noting that in victory or defeat, his stats are quite different. He looks like a Vézina winner in victory, but an ordinary goalie in defeat.

An average of 1.34 and an efficiency rate of .959 in his three wins? Excellent. But when he loses… it’s less chic and less often highlighted publicly.

Of course, I’m not saying that the losses are Fowler’s fault. Yesterday, for example, he gave up four goals (and two more in the shootout) without being responsible for the loss.

But statistically, there are ups and downs in his performances. That’s to be expected from a youngster playing on a young team (which makes mistakes defensively speaking) in the best league in the world.

And that’s why I wonder if he doesn’t belong in Laval.

Mind you, I’m not saying he deserves to go to Laval. If the Canadiens (who have clearly made him their goalie of choice in recent games) were to keep him up there, Fowler would have deserved it.

But we all know that there are merits to seeing a goalie DOMINATE a level. And right now, he’s not dominating in the NHL like he did in his first 26 games in the AHL.

Playing big games down there has to be part of the discussion for a team that wants to end the ménage à trois. And that would help Fowler limit his tougher games.

The Canadiens obviously intend to give Samuel Montembeault another chance, so another player could be scooped up to end the three-way tie.

Fowler is the logical choice. The message would have been sent to the two guys who have been there since the start of the regular season…

We’ll say it again: if Fowler were to continue in the NHL, it would be interesting to follow. But it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary to see him take on big responsibilities down in the AHL, in order to DOMINATE his sport.

We’ll see what the Habs decide in due course.

overtime

– Big day.

– Really?

– Wow.

– With good reason.

– Sad news.

Hockey Canada will unveil its Olympic roster in the U.S. on December 31 at noon.