Jacob Fowler gave up five goals yesterday in a Rocket loss

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Jacob Fowler gave up five goals yesterday in a Rocket loss
Credit: X

The Laval Rocket's trip out West continues.

Last night, the Canadiens' farm team was in Calgary. And let's just say it didn't go too well for Pascal Vincent's men, who lost 6-3.

That doesn't change the fact that Laval is still in first place in its division, though.

(Credit: The AHL)

Jacob Fowler was in goal for the fourth time since his return to the AHL. And let's just say that, in reality, the goaltender didn't have the most glorious outing of his career.

The Canadiens prospect allowed five goals (the game ended with an empty-net goal) on 25 shots. He posted a .800 save percentage in yesterday's game.

When you look at his overall statistics, you realize that Fowler hasn't been the most dominant goalie since his return to the AHL. And that's despite the fact that he's had some good games.

In fact, he has allowed 13 goals on 117 shots, giving him a save percentage below .900 (.888) in four games since the habs ended the three-way tie in the NHL. That said, in two of the four games, he was above the .900 mark.

(Credit: The AHL)

Obviously, this is colored by his result last night, which is included in the exercise. But in fact, he has allowed at least three goals in each of his last three games. That hadn't happened to him once this season with the Rocket until now.

Is this the end of the world for the goaltender, who has a 2-2 record since returning to Laval? No, of course not. The young goaltender is improving and has still had some good moments. We shouldn't think that everything is negative.

But yesterday's game reminds us that there's a reason why the Canadiens would be better off sticking to their original plan, which is to let the American gain experience in the AHL, through his ups and downs.

Eric Engels, however, believes that Fowler should be the trusted goalie at the top sooner rather than later.

There is no magic formula for the Canadiens when it comes to managing and developing their goalies. Everyone has their opinion on this important issue.

In this regard, perhaps everyone is looking forward to the Olympic break.


Overtime

– Interesting.

– Read more.

– Note.

– Should Lane Hutson help Phillip Danault's line by being on the ice with these guys more often? [JdeM]

– Hey, man.

facebook icon Share twitter icon Tweet linkedin icon Share
Copied!