Jacob Fowler keeps stacking up road wins for the Montreal Canadiens, and Saturday night’s 4-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs only added to the trend. The 21-year-old rookie is now 4-0-0 away from the Bell Centre, and every one of those victories has come in regulation.
That road run has been sharp in every sense. Fowler has given up just four goals in 240 minutes away from home, good for a 1.00 goals-against average and a .969 save percentage.
Both marks sit at the top of the league for road goaltending. One of those four wins, though, came in a shootout on October 27 against the St-Louis Blues.
The contrast with Jakub Dobes is hard to miss. Dobes has also appeared in four road games, but he’s sitting at 2-1-1 with a 3.82 GAA and an .851 save percentage. At home, Fowler’s numbers aren’t quite as eye-popping, but they still show a goalie who has handled the job well: a 4-1-1 record, 2.90 GAA, and .892 SV.
Dobes has had a tougher time in his limited home work too, posting a 1-1-1 record with a 4.34 GAA and an .841 SV in three games. So far this season, Fowler has clearly been the stronger option no matter where the Canadiens have played.
Still, Martin St-Louis will need to turn to Dobes at least once this week. His last outing came on November 5 against the Utah Mammoth, and that wasn’t exactly a soft landing - Utah has 21 points in the standings. Montreal’s schedule gives the coaching staff a tricky stretch to manage, with two home games, a Thursday night trip to Boston, and then Saturday’s matchup with the Colorado Avalanche.
The Wild, who are second in the league, come first, followed by the Avalanche, who are 11th in the standings. On paper, Colorado is the least imposing of the three opponents, which raises the question of whether the Canadiens will wait until Saturday to give Dobes a start. If they do, he’ll have gone eight days between appearances.
Samuel Montembeault is also day-to-day, and he was skating this weekend in full gear. Between that and the upcoming schedule, Kent Hughes will soon have to sort out the crease.
In Other News...
Canadiens Sent A Clear Message As Tension Rose Behind Closed Doors
A closed-door meeting after the loss to Winnipeg set the tone for what followed at Canadiens practice, where the focus shifted quickly from frustration to accountability. The next session had the feel of a team trying to reset in a hurry, with Cole Caufield among the players putting in extra work in a rebound-control drill as Montreal looked to clean up the details that had been costing it.
The response showed up in the standings, too, as Montreal came back to beat Toronto in its next game and give its season a better feel in the crowded NHL picture. For a group that had just been dealing with tension behind closed doors, the sequence was a reminder that sometimes the message lands best when it is followed by a sharper practice and a win that lets everyone breathe a little easier. [Read more 🡒]
Arber Xhekaj Just Added Real Edge To Canadiens-Leafs Again
Arber Xhekaj did what he has a habit of doing against the Maple Leafs: he turned a routine game into something with a little more bite. The Canadiens defenseman was left frustrated by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in Montreals latest meeting with Toronto, and he made it clear afterward that he believed officials may have gotten the call wrong. Martin St-Louis also took issue with the ruling, adding another layer to a sequence that already had the feel of a familiar Canadiens-Leafs flashpoint.
What bothered Xhekaj even more was what happened to Kirby Dach during the same sequence, when the play escalated into a two-on-one situation. For Montreal, it was another reminder of how quickly these games can tilt from competitive to combustible, especially when Xhekaj is involved and the Canadiens feel they have a reason to push back. The result is an unresolved little subplot that could easily carry into the next time these teams see each other. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Suddenly Have A Josh Anderson Question Before Minnesota
Josh Anderson was back on the ice with the Canadiens after missing Saturdays win in Toronto for personal reasons, a welcome sign for a team that has been playing well lately and could use his blend of scoring touch and physical edge. His return to practice at least gets him back into the mix as Montreal turns its attention to Minnesota, where the lineup picture is still being sorted out.
Still, Anderson remains listed as day-to-day, which leaves his availability for the game against the Wild very much up in the air. For a Canadiens group that has found some momentum, the question is less about whether Anderson matters and more about whether theyll have him in the lineup when they need him next. [Read more 🡒]