MONTREAL - It is often said that hockey is a game of mistakes.
Montreal Canadiens rookie goaltender Jacob Fowler readily admits he made a pretty costly one on the Philadelphia Flyers' third goal of Tuesday night's game, scored with under a minute to play in the second period.
Fowler misplayed the puck behind his own net, allowing Flyers forward Matvei Michkov to recover the loose puck. The Russian would find linemate Bobby Brink in the slot for the goal, ensuring the Flyers entered the second intermission with a 3-1 lead.
鈥淵ou just learn from it,鈥 said Fowler. 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 given up many of those in my career. Hopefully, that鈥檚 the last one. Learn from it, get back on the ice tomorrow (Wednesday) and move forward.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 all a learning curve,鈥 added Canadiens head coach Martin St-Louis. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like anything. That play is dead. What鈥檚 in front of you is not yet born. You have to stay in the moment. That鈥檚 what he does.鈥
Fowler鈥檚 second-period blunder in the Canadiens 4-1 loss to the Flyers at Bell Centre overshadowed what was otherwise a solid debut home outing for the 21-year-old.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great,鈥 said Fowler. 鈥淚 got to play here in the pre-season. I鈥檝e played here before. I know the atmosphere. You want to win. You want to take the positives every night, but not as many as I鈥檇 like tonight. I鈥檝e got to learn from it and get back to work.鈥
Since being called up from the Canadiens鈥 AHL affiliate 鈥 the Laval Rocket 鈥 on Dec. 9, Fowler has started all but one of Montreal鈥檚 four games in what can best be described as a whirlwind week for the goalie.
鈥淚 prepare the same way,鈥 said Fowler. 鈥淵ou've got to be ready at any moment. Obviously, it came fast, but everybody here has been great. They鈥檝e made it easy on me to just be comfortable. Ultimately, I just got to go out there and execute.鈥
The Melbourne, Fla., native shined in his NHL debut on Thursday, stopping 36 shots in his team鈥檚 4-2 win against the Penguins in Pittsburgh.
The third-round draft pick, 69th overall, in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft followed that up with 24 saves in Montreal鈥檚 5-4 overtime defeat to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
Through his first three NHL starts, Fowler boasts a 3.32 goals-against average and .885 save percentage.
鈥淗e鈥檚 handled himself really well to start off with, but the spotlight is big, especially for goalies,鈥 said Canadiens defenceman Lane Hutson. 鈥淗e鈥檚 embracing it and just continues to do what he does.鈥
Fowler can expect to see even more action in the coming days with the Canadiens announcing before the game that fellow goaltender Samuel Montembeault had been assigned to the Rocket for a conditioning assignment.
The 29-year-old last appeared in a game on Dec. 9, entering in relief of Jakub Dobes against the Tampa Bay Lightning, giving up three goals on 13 shots. Montembeault has not started for Montreal since a 5-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 2.
St. Louis said post-game the plan is for Montembeault to start each of the next two games for the Rocket Thursday and Saturday in Cleveland against the Monsters, farm team of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Becancour, Que., native is expected to re-join the big club on Sunday in Pittsburgh ahead of Montreal鈥檚 matchup with the Penguins.
鈥淚 think it was a perfect scenario for him to go get a couple games and start building it back,鈥 said St. Louis. 鈥淚t鈥檚 unfortunate, but to me, the answers are everywhere. I don鈥檛 see it as a problem.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 obviously been tough for him mentally,鈥 said Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 probably the biggest thing. He鈥檚 still got all the traits and the ability. He鈥檚 just got to find that confidence again and, hopefully, this helps for him to come back and get back to where he was.鈥
MATHESON ON THE SHELF
The Canadiens played without defenceman Mike Matheson for the first time this season. The 31-year-old, who leads all Montreal skaters with an average ice time of 24 minutes 54 seconds, is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. No further update was provided as to Matheson鈥檚 status following the game.
鈥淗e plays the hardest minutes on the team and plays the full two minutes on the PK (penalty kill),鈥 said Suzuki. 鈥淚 thought our PK did a pretty good job tonight, though. It鈥檚 a tough guy to replace, for sure. Hopefully, we鈥檒l get him back soon.鈥
鈥淗e does so many little things right,鈥 Hutson added. 鈥淗e makes it so much easier for everyone on the ice and everyone on the bench, too. He鈥檚 always talking, kind of explaining things and is always willing to teach. He鈥檚 a big part of our team.鈥
This report by 好色tvwas first published Dec. 17, 2025.
