Montreal Canadiens

Jacob Fowler is on his way to becoming the best goaltender in the NHL
Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Jacob Fowler is on his way to becoming the best goaltender in the NHL
Credit: X

Jacob Fowler is probably, as we speak, the front-runner for the Calder Trophy, awarded to the National Hockey League's top rookie.

But how strong is his case for the Vezina Trophy?

Because yes, the way he's playing, the Canadiens goaltender could earn serious consideration for the title of Goaltender of the Year—if he doesn't slow down too much in the coming months.

In particular, he's the only goaltender in the NHL with an expected saves percentage above 1.00—he's at 1.122. So basically, in every game, he saves more than one goal.

The Canadiens' goaltender's save percentage also puts him at the top of the rankings, according to this table published by Anthony Martineau.

Nine wins (fourth in the NHL), a .926 save percentage (best among goalies with at least 10 games played), and a 2.13 goals-against average: everything is going well for him.

And the Canadiens aren't going to complain about that.

But it's more than just the stats. The Canadiens' players clearly play with a lot of confidence when Fowler is in net.

He's always in the right spot. He always knows what to do. And that explains his 9-1-2 record since his recall—and 9-0-2 since his loss in his first game of the season.

For a young player his age, that's pretty impressive. He has a Carey Price-like quality in the way he makes his teammates look more dominant than they really are.

And he did just that yesterday in a city that means a lot to him: Boston. He played two years in the NCAA there, and some of his old teammates came to watch him play. It didn't faze him at all: he stayed just as focused, and it motivated him rather than stressing him out. 

But Jacob Fowler isn't the only one deserving of mention in the Canadiens' 5-2 victory over the Bruins last night in Boston.

What stands out to me?

1. Mike Matheson's return (21:11 on the ice) allowed Martin St-Louis to better distribute ice time among his defensemen. Lane Hutson played 21:33, and all the other guys were between 15 and 20 minutes.

The win certainly helped, but still.

2. The Canadiens won the game, but one wonders how Chris Kreider is feeling this morning. Remember that yesterday, the forward took a hit to the “lower body.”

Would you be surprised to see him sidelined for an extended period?

3. With his 175th win as a Canadiens coach, Martin St-Louis has now surpassed Pat Burns. He ranks seventh in franchise history.

That's no small feat.

4. Speaking of franchise history: 12 straight games with at least one point (meaning no regular-season losses) ties the organization's best streak since 1992–1993. The Canadiens have nine wins in those games.

And that year, the Canadiens blew—ah, never mind.

5. The Habs' white Hometown Remix jersey has been worn three times. There was that cursed game against the Jets, but since then, the Canadiens have won twice.

That's worth noting.

6. In 19 games, the Canadiens have held a two-goal lead 13 times. They're also the team that has trailed the least (in terms of minutes) since the start of the season.

If the team can stop giving up goals in the third period, things will go well this season.

7. The Canadiens scored on a breakaway… Josh Anderson kept scoring—he's off to an excellent start to the season… Kirby Dach took matters into his own hands early in the game with a superb goal…

The little details made the difference, even though the stars weren't having their best game.

In a Nutshell

– Nice.

– Note.

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