Montreal’s Fowler finds his form after the call

OTTAWA – Martin St. Louis may have difficult decisions ahead.

The Montreal Canadiens coach raised eyebrows when he announced Jacob Fowler would start Wednesday against the Ottawa Senators.

The 21-year-old was instrumental, however, in Montreal’s 3-2 win with 32 saves.

Following his recall from the American Hockey League’s Laval Rocket, Fowler was in Ottawa ahead of his teammates on Tuesday as Jakub Dobes made 17 saves in Montreal’s 3-1 win over the Maple Leafs in Toronto.

Samuel Montembeault was Dobes’ backup in Toronto, but the Canadiens still chose to recall Fowler.

He had played his first 10 NHL games earlier this season. Fowler of Melbourne, Fla., went 4-4-2 with a .903 save percentage and a 2.62 goals-against average in that stretch. His previous appearance was on January 15 against the Buffalo Sabres.

With the Canadiens (36-18-10) looking to solidly lock down a playoff spot, it’s clear that St.

He was impressed by his young goaltender’s composure in a game that had playoff intensity. The Senators (32-23-9) are on the outside of the playoff picture and struggling to gain ground.

“I thought he struggled,” St. Louis said. “He made some big saves for us. It’s such a big game in terms of winning and losing and it usually comes down to your goaltender and I thought he did that … this game could have gone either way and I think Fowler did the job.”

Teammates quickly recognized the performance of their new goalkeeper.

“We know what he’s capable of, but I mean some of those saves he made late in the game is a big reason why we won the game,” Alex Newhook said. “A lot of credit to him. Great to see.”

Fowler wasn’t as nervous as he was in his debut on Dec. 11, when he had 33 saves in a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“The first experience made me a little more ready for it,” Fowler said. “Before (it) was a little bit more new stuff. Here, I was just joining a team that I felt like I was a part of and super happy to be a part of this team and big win for our group.”

Fowler praised the efforts of his teammates in the final three minutes on Wednesday when Ottawa pressed hard to equalize.

Fowler made a number of key saves, but Alexandre Carrier and Phillip Danault also blocked shots from Fabian Zetterlund and Tim Stutzle to secure the win.

“It was pretty hectic,” Fowler recalls. “The couple plays where our guys on the ice were pretty fired up and a lot of big blocks down there. You know the last few minutes, there were a lot of guys doing a lot of tough things to get a win, and that’s what it takes this time of year.”

With 18 games remaining in their regular season, the Canadiens are focused on positioning themselves for a playoff run.

The win over the Senators moved the Canadiens into third place in the Atlantic Division, three points ahead of the Detroit Red Wings and four over Boston, who hold the two wild cards.

“You can’t buy that experience where we are in the season against that team,” St. Louis said. Louis. “Pretty good rivalry for us, on the road. You can’t buy that. So, for me, I think it’s pretty high the way (Fowler) played.

With back-to-back games against San Jose and Anaheim this weekend, the coach’s decisions about his starting goaltender will be interesting.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on March 12, 2026

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