The Montreal Canadiens plan to honor Carey Price on Tuesday, one day after the winningest goaltender in franchise history was inducted as part of the Hockey Hall of Fame class of 2026.
Jacob Fowler has a long way to go to be mentioned in the same breath as Price, who is a former Hart and Vezina Trophy recipient. That said, the 21-year-old rookie is creating some buzz of his own with his recent play heading into the Canadiens’ home game against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.
Fowler made 26 saves on Saturday as Montreal extended its point streak to 10 games (8-0-2) with a 4-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. He improved to 8-0-1 in his last nine games, becoming the first rookie goaltender with a nine-game point streak at age 21 or younger since Braden Holtby in 2010-11.
Fowler even challenged his teammates during a TV timeout in the third period after the Maple Leafs shaved a three-goal deficit down to one. His words came on the heels of the Canadiens’ epic collapse last Tuesday in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets.
“It was good to see,” said Alex Newhook, who scored two goals on Saturday. “He’s got a good presence back there. He’s got a calming presence for sure. For a young guy to be able to step up like that and come to the bench, he’s not panicking. We know he’s going to be on it behind us, it’s good. I liked hearing it.”
Montreal head coach Martin St. Louis wasn’t shocked by Fowler taking command of the situation.
“I feel like he’s done that at every level he’s played, so I think we knew that about him,” St. Louis said. “He looks very comfortable, confident. I think we’re trying to play well in front of him, so he doesn’t have to steal a game for us, and I thought tonight he did his job, and I think we did our job in front of him.”
Like the Canadiens, the Wild are carrying a pronounced point streak into Tuesday’s encounter.
Minnesota extended its run to eight games (6-0-2) with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
Maxim Shabanov scored two goals and Blake Coleman also tallied versus the Lightning.
“He’s got great instincts,” Wild head coach John Hynes said of Shabanov. “He can shoot the puck, and he’s got really good poise. I like his demeanor. He’s a focused kid. He’s got good poise with the puck. He clearly understands how we want to play and the things we want to do. He’s got good details, so it’s nice to see him progress the way he has progressed.”
Kirill Kaprizov (five goals, nine assists), Joel Eriksson Ek (four goals, six assists) and Quinn Hughes (four goals, nine assists) are carrying eight-game point streaks into the Minnesota contest.
Hughes missed practice on Monday to attend the Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in Toronto, but he is expected to play on Tuesday against the Canadiens.
