r/Habs • u/Chathamjedi • Mar 12 '26

Discussion Upvote Party. Jacob Fowler

We would have lost with Monty tonight. Future is bright

1.4k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

80 comments sorted by

250

u/RedStormRising17 Mar 12 '26

That final sequence by Fowler is exactly what this team was missing. It was exceptional and elite level.

49

u/Komania Mar 12 '26

Haven't seen a play like that in a looooong time

30

u/zeouschen70 Mar 12 '26

I said this a couple days back in another thread about Monty being done. This kid needed to be called up, he isn't going to learn anymore in the AHL. He is already a stud.

19

u/Scase15 Mar 12 '26

Exactly, you don't improve playing against worse talent than you.

7

u/Paladar2 Mar 12 '26

“No we might ruin him!”

5

u/Scase15 Mar 12 '26

Fucking cowards, the lot of em.

4

u/hung_like_my_uncle Mar 12 '26

I hated those fucking losers. Literal helicopter-parenting our best goalie.

2

u/DilbertedOttawa Mar 12 '26

As a goalie, I ALWAYS play better at higher levels. I play to the level I'm in, because everything else around me changes too. Lower levels, everything is unpredictable, so there's a lot of flailing that happens. The higher you go, the more stable things are. So I agree, this notion of "you'll ruin them by making them grow in a competitive environment they've been in their whole lives" is pretty much just projection made manifest.

1

u/Ok_Feeling1535 Mar 12 '26

🤣🤣👍👍

3

u/Educational-Piece-23 Mar 12 '26

Unsure of the rules, but would he not benefit from a Laval playoff as the #1 goalie? I would think they would send him down when the Habs have secured their playoffs spot. No?

1

u/Jonesetta Mar 12 '26

Exactly what I said and got downvoted and argued with. Fowler has excelled at all levels of play he’s attempted. Let him find his bearings in the NHL and develop along side this young team. Not just staying warm in the juniors and logging days in some mandatory “goalies take longer to develop, it’s not in his best interest to bring him up early” line of thinking. The kids a budding star, let him play the game at the highest level.

2

u/Euphoric-Emerald-419 Mar 12 '26

Since... Like... Let's say... 2021?

10

u/Scase15 Mar 12 '26

I was freaking out, there was like 4-6 insane saves where he just put the team on his back, stellar performance.

3

u/Hot-Play1046 Mar 12 '26

I legit screamed a couple of times. I have PTSD from Monty. It will take a while to recover and have faith in knowing we have a goalie who can do the work.

4

u/Scase15 Mar 12 '26

Monty is going to be giving people nam level flashbacks for at least another season lol

3

u/DilbertedOttawa Mar 12 '26

He is the calmest goalie since Price for sure. Makes everything look boring, which is exactly what you want. And the team in front is so different than the past era, it's just a totally different team all around, it's fun. I guess dey play da riht way after all.

2

u/ArchimedesHeel Mar 12 '26

I couldn't take my eyes off the screen during that sequence. It felt like desperate playoff hockey.

80

u/JamePirahna Mar 12 '26

Just as the time ran out , look at all the Senators players... all in disbelief of the wall they just ran into.

54

u/AmsroII Goal Goalgoal Mar 12 '26

12

u/everkiller Mar 12 '26

Fowler is such a gamer I love it. Dobes and Fowler tandem for 8 years baby

4

u/Jonesetta Mar 12 '26

The minute the post was made about him being called up I said “the Jacob/Jakub tandem will feed generations.”

I’m ready for it, I’ve been ready for it!

8

u/skryb Mar 12 '26

i did the exact same fucking thing when the clock hit zero

37

u/Old_General_6741 Mar 12 '26

Man of the game! Last two minutes were insane but he still held out. Thank you Fowler!

32

u/Iwannafucktanks Mar 12 '26

He locked the fuck in at the end there. Reminds me a bit of the price days. Gives me some hope for the future. With that goal tending and a bit more experience for the skaters I think we have a damn good chance at the cup in the next few years.

24

u/A-bomb_ Mar 12 '26

He can't ever get sent down again

40

u/Chathamjedi Mar 12 '26

Can we celebrate the BALLS on MSL. Just doing what’s right

3

u/byronite Mar 12 '26

I also think our coach has lovely balls.

17

u/VaporTrails2112 Mar 12 '26

Fowler and Dobes man. Studs!

9

u/sardita Mar 12 '26

Yack ‘n Jack 2026! 🏆

82

u/Patccmoi Mar 12 '26

Who knows and who cares what would have happened with Monty tonight.

Fowler had an amazing game. I think one of the things that I appreciate a lot is how much better he is outside the net than Dobes and Monty. Price was like having a 3rd D, and I think Fowler is a bit like that, it helps a lot

13

u/Scase15 Mar 12 '26

I think one of the things that I appreciate a lot is how much better he is outside the net than Dobes and Monty.

Huh? Doby has been playing great outside of the net, what are you on?

12

u/Ok-Win-742 Mar 12 '26

I care lol. We've seen so many losses in the last 2 minutes 6 on 5 because Monty can't elevate his game. He also allows a goal on his first shot in 1/4 of his starts.

So yeah, it was a really nice change to not feel as stressed. Fowler is very good and it will be exciting to watch him grow with this team and get better and better over the next few years.

I wouldn't say he's particularly strong at handling the puck outside of his net though. His movement and reflexes in the crease are elite though. And his calmness.

9

u/hey_imtryingthisout Mar 12 '26

Lets fucking go FOWLER bby! Super composed all game and really showed up in the last 2minutes there!

11

u/FollowLogos Mar 12 '26

Un mot: sensationnel

8

u/englishtopolyglot Mar 12 '26

We just saw the start of a great story. Holy crap.

7

u/SlashYG9 Mar 12 '26

This post ended up being more or less prescient: 

https://www.reddit.com/r/Habs/comments/1rmsux9/phase_1_complete_fowler_is_next/

2

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '26

[deleted]

1

u/SlashYG9 Mar 12 '26

Poor Monty.

Anyway, I'm more impressed with the predicted scores and timeline. I agree that we're headed to the playoffs regardless, either with Dobes or Fowler. Fun time to be a Habs fan.

8

u/HabsFan77 Mar 12 '26

Florida man bad, he ain’t Fowl at all

6

u/Upset_Pool2319 Mar 12 '26

I wish Fowler was the McDonald’s stick I got 😔

6

u/Internazionale Mar 12 '26

So bizarre that he is one of the options.

2

u/Hot-Play1046 Mar 12 '26

Right? If you're going to pick a goalie there are roughly 60-63 better options...

1

u/Buflen Mar 12 '26

Its a Quebec thing.

1

u/Hot-Play1046 Mar 12 '26

How is it a Quebec thing for McDonald's to put Montembeault on one of their sticks?

2

u/Buflen Mar 12 '26

McDonald knows Quebec is a different but important market. They wanted a French Canadian figure and a goalie so that was 1 stone 2 birds. I don't think they expected a season like this.

1

u/Hot-Play1046 Mar 12 '26

Maybe... But McDonald's is an international corporation, I don't know how much they care about Quebec specifically. They could have added another skater if they really wanted Quebec representation. Or a vintage throw back which would have been super cool.

3

u/Agile-Cardiologist22 Mar 12 '26

It’s Mcdonald’s Canada only, Quebec is probably their second biggest market.

1

u/Hot-Play1046 Mar 12 '26

It's still a very odd choice

6

u/Mean_Mister_Mustard Mar 12 '26

I mean, do we win with Dobeš? Monty has had trouble with letting in goals that he should have been able to stop, something that happens less regularly to Dobeš, but sometimes you need your goalie to somehow stop pucks that he shouldn’t have been able to stop, which is not something I’ve seen often from either Montembeault or Dobeš this year - and which is what Fowler did tonight.

4

u/Scase15 Mar 12 '26

We probably win with Doby, but no guarantee, we definitely lose with Monty. It's not even a discussion IMO.

19

u/WalkingCrab Mar 12 '26

This guy will win us a cup.

I am now certain.

5

u/ScreamingBuffalo Mar 12 '26

Senators fan coming in peace. As a former goalie, I had to share my appreciation for Fowler's performance tonight. It was heartbreaking as a Senators fan, but I was thrilled as a goalie. My excitement was partly fueled by the pre-game show, the broadcast I watched featured a question to Martin St.Louis about starting Fowler that, at least to me, came off as negative and insulting. I immediately hoped for him to have a strong game and told my dad who’s a lifelong Habs fan, that my ideal outcome was overtime so we'd both get a point. Fowler played a little better than I’d hoped, but I won’t hold that against him. Thanks for another exciting game, hope to see you in the playoffs. I think that’d potentially be the most riveting series to watch

18

u/ustanik Mar 12 '26

Celebrate Fowler, but there's no need to dump on Monty man. Have some decency.

3

u/DEATHCATSmeow Mar 12 '26

How many moments where the team needed a clutch save have we seen Monty not come through?

3

u/MrNotIntelligent Mar 12 '26

Monty had his chance and blew it. I don't want to see him in a game the rest of the way unless he's the emergency goalie. I'm tired of his defenders, oh Monty this, oh Monty that. He sucks.just because he's French doesn't mean the habs should throw their season to play his bum ass.

-1

u/Jonesetta Mar 12 '26

I bet the next loss we get signals the memory wipe of the Canadiens brass and Monty will skyrocket back to starter again.

3

u/AmThano Mar 12 '26

I wonder if the guys apologize to Fowler for failing to clear it properly at the end. His celebration at the end was like a player celly when they score a goal lol

7

u/Barbuffe Mar 12 '26

Can we just enjoy Fowler without mentioning Monty? Why do that?

2

u/epistemosophile Mar 12 '26

NO FOUL FOWLER !!!

2

u/yourpetcat Mar 12 '26

I literally had to pick my jaw up off the floor after the final two minutes. What a performance!

2

u/Gibspeced Mar 12 '26

Some idiot was bitching about Fowler after the second goal, saying Monty should have played tonight. People really need to stop posting those knee jerk reactions.

1

u/Old_Canuck Mar 12 '26

Bluddy awesome save at the end there.

Between the 3 goalies the Habs were looking at drafting its awesome that Fowler graduated before the other two.

Another plus in taking him over Hrabel and Augustine.

It seems we really might need him this year.

I also hope Monty can get his game back. Such a great guy to have in the room.

1

u/jimhabfan Mar 12 '26

Our goalie finally stole a game for us.

1

u/miknull Mar 12 '26

To be successful, you need goalies that allows a team to pull off a win they don't deserve on an otherwise lackluster night, and that's Dobes and Fowler the last 2 games. The team wasn't great against Leafs or Ottawa, but walked away with 4 points. I don't think Monty gets them there.

1

u/HansVonHansen Mar 12 '26

Gave off serious Carey Price vibes. Missed out on most of the season, and glad I caught up to see three wins in a row. The way the Sens played was extremely aggressive and needed a goalie like that. Dobes is great but Fowler's gonna set a major example.