“I think we’ll go back to two goalies at the start of 2026.”

Michaël Petit
“I think we’ll go back to two goalies at the start of 2026.”
Credit: Getty Images

On this Sunday, December 28, the Montreal Canadiens will be back in action tonight.

Martin St-Louis' team will visit the Lightning in Tampa Bay at 5:00 p.m.

Yesterday, we learned that Jacob Fowler will be tasked with putting the brakes on the Lightning, a team with as many points as the Habs in the standings.

It will also be another audition for Fowler (although he's done very well so far), as Samuel Montembeault is back with the big club and the Habs are left with three goalies.

We all know that a three-man household is far from ideal, especially when there are two young goalies (Fowler and Jakub Dobes).

The two “easiest” choices are to send either Dobes or Fowler back to Laval, since they don't have to go through waivers. There's also the option of trading Montembeault.

On 98.5 FM Sports, Martin McGuire believes there will be a swift change at this level. In his opinion, the Habs will return to a goaltending duo in early 2026.

This will be a very important game for Fowler, when he can once again prove that he belongs in the NHL.

However, it will also be (another) very special game for the young Canadiens goaltender, as the Lightning was his childhood team.

Remember that the game against the Bruins in Boston last Tuesday was also very special for Fowler, because he spent his entire NCAA career with Boston College.

But this game in Tampa Bay will be different for the young American goalie.

It's always special, especially for a rookie, to play such an important game for yourself, even more so when your family can come and see you in large numbers.

If the stress doesn't affect him too much (which doesn't seem to be the case when you see his calm and maturity in front of the net), he could certainly have a strong outing.

Obviously, he'll need help from his teammates (especially his defenders), but Fowler could use that little boost in his favor.

It's important to remember that the Lightning are anything but an easy team to beat. There's a lot of talent and experience on the roster.

What's more, the Florida club will be able to count on the services of Brandon Hagel, who returns to action tonight.

On the other hand, as my colleague Mathis Therrien mentioned, Tampa Bay is banged up and tired (Jon Cooper's troupe played last night) and it won't be Andrei Vasilevskiy in front of the net.

All the more reason for the Habs to take advantage of the holiday break. They'll need to start the game strong and keep up the pace right to the end.

Let's see if young Fowler can (once again) make the difference, this time against his childhood team.


In Overtime

– Maximum fine for Anton Lundell and Scott Sabourin following the turbulent match between the two Floridian clubs.

– It's still nice to see.

– Read on.

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