Jacob Fowler sends his message: he doesn’t want to go back to Laval

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Jacob Fowler sends his message: he doesn’t want to go back to Laval
Credit: Getty Images

Last night, the Canadiens returned to the Bell Centre following their Christmas trip.

Those who watched the game saw just how out of their league the Flames were compared to the Canadiens. The Calgary club, which lost 4-1, was truly… ordinary.

Let's put it this way.

The Canadiens broke their goaltending rotation to send Jacob Fowler back in front of the net. It would have been easy to tell Jakub Dobes that the net was his against a club heading for the wall.

But no: instead, it was the younger man who got the mandate.

Although he wasn't always the most challenged of men, and gave away two goals (including the disallowed one) he'd like to see again, he kept his club in the game and went for the W.

In his third career game at the Bell Centre, he got a good result. And in a league of results, that's pretty important, isn't it?

In his last five games, the goalie has given up just nine goals – including four in his toughest game against the Lightning. More often than not, he gives his club a chance to win.

He has three wins since his shutout against the Penguins and would have deserved the win against the Blues.

(Credit: ESPN)

Of course, in all of this, one wonders about the ménage à trois. Kent Hughes said he didn't want it to last forever, and clearly, the Habs seem to have faith in Fowler.

What's more, Samuel Montembeault (who could possibly play tonight against the Panthers) has been fine since his return to action.

Since Jakub Dobes is a bit of a crook and eligible to play games in the AHL, it's safe to assume that he's at risk of being traded, at some point, to the Laval Rocket.

We'll have to wait and see… but Fowler is doing everything he can to muddy the waters.

But there's more to the story than the goalie. After all, several players stood out during the match.

What do I take away from all this?

1. The first player we need to talk about is… the seventh player. The crowd was so into it, and all the guys on the ice noticed.

The wave looked absolutely crazy.

What's happening with the Canadiens these days is really crazy and the fans, who endured years of misery during the rebuild, are clearly happy with the current results.

And when you look at the standings, you can see why.

(Credit: NHL.com)

2. We've been talking a lot about the second line for a while now, but yesterday it was the first line that really stood out. Alexandre Texier had his best game for the Canadiens with a superb goal and two assists.

The day after Kent Hughes' press conference, the Frenchman stood up to reiterate that he wants to keep fighting for his place on the first line.

3. Speaking of Kent Hughes and his press conference: following his vote of confidence in Oliver Kapanen, the latter thanked him by scoring another goal, his 14th of the season.

Is that why the GM was so happy last night?

4. The club's center players didn't have it easy in the face-off circle… except for Phillip Danault. At 86.7%, he was the most-used forward (18:22) by his coach.

Do you think the guy was happy to play at the Bell Centre again?

5. Danault also picked up an assist on Lane Hutson's goal. Hutson has already scored eight goals this season, better than his total of six last year.

He's getting comfortable with his shot, which is a good thing.

6. The Canadiens have won seven of their last ten games – including a stretch of seven straight on the road. He's scored 39 times and allowed just 23 goals in that span.

Basically, that means the Habs have won their last 10 games by an average of 4-2. If we take shortcuts, that's pretty much what it means.

7. Has anyone ever told you that Juraj Slafkovsky has gone to another level recently? Anyway, I think everyone had already noticed…

Since December 20, he's ranked fourth in the NHL in terms of points.


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The Canadiens face the Panthers at home tonight. We don't necessarily expect a change at forward, but we do wonder who will be the goalie and whether Kaiden Guhle will be back in action.

There's no practice on the menu. Martin St-Louis will speak to the media around 4 p.m.

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