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The Canadiens and Senators clashed in a heated divisional matchup with big points on the line. Montreal felt the loss of their dynamic winger Cole Caufield, despite Alexandre Texier getting on the scoresheet with an individual effort on his goal. They were able to claw themselves back into a game that could have gone off the rails at numerous junctures, but they stayed the course and pulled out a gritty 3-2 regulation win that decisively handed them any tiebreaker point, taking the season series three games to one.

Jacob Fowler was the stunner tonight, backstopping a win that could easily exceed another goaltender’s entire season worth of highlights. The National broadcast announcers and panelists described his play as reminding them of Carey Price, and it is hard not to see a similarity in their poise and composure, especially with large men bearing down on them at drastic speeds. It’s likely Fowler will return to the AHL at some point in the next few weeks for roster and cap space reasons, but how can the Canadiens coaching staff and management pull this rookie away from the dressing room after another spectacular performance between the pipes?

Habs Lineup

Alexandre Texier — Nick Suzuki — Juraj Slafkovsky
Alex Newhook— Oliver Kapanen — Ivan Demidov
Zach Bolduc – Jake Evans – Kirby Dach
Josh Anderson – Phillip Danault — Brendan Gallagher

Lane Hutson – Jayden Struble
Mike Matheson — Noah Dobson
Kaiden Guhle – Alexandre Carrier

Jacob Fowler

10 Thoughts

1) Fowler was tested early as the Senators got the first shot on net, both teams desperate to establish themselves in the driver’s seat of the contest. Fowler needed to make a quick glove save and then another right leg save after the following faceoff. Dylan Cozens pushed Fowler out of his crease as the puck bounced to open ice, giving the Habs the first power play of the game 30 seconds in. The call itself was perhaps the result of the time in the game and the enthusiasm with which Cozens engaged with Fowler, as well as how far he ended up outside of his starting position. If the puck had gone in with a shot afterwards, certainly the Canadiens would have challenged for the minor penalty that was called in the first place.

2) Despite Montreal’s top unit missing Caufield along the wall for their entries, Dach was an able replacement when he carried the puck into the zone twice, and his drop off for Suzuki at the outer hashmarks was the first stage of the opening goal. Suzuki curled to the inside and fired a pass across the slot to a waiting Demidov. Tim Stutzle was the defending forward in front of the net, and he decided to make the same play as I do in NHL® 25, which is to say he laid out on the ice for no reason. Demidov dragged the puck around him with ease and pushed the puck to Slafkovsky on the back door. Ottawa Senators head coach Travis Green was seemingly less than satisfied with the call.

3) While fighting off a forecheck and losing his position, Hutson tripped Fabian Zetterlund as he spun around, chopping at Zetterlund’s feet five meters from the referee. Stutzle, Drake Batherson, and Thomas Chabot passed between themselves before a cross-ice pass went awry and gave the Habs an outlet to jam up the neutral zone and deny entry for the bulk of the rest of the penalty kill. Danault and Evans both had shorthanded shots blocked, and kept the Sens out of dangerous areas near Fowler. Montreal and Ottawa traded chance for chance and hit for hit, Nick Cousins bowling over Carrier and Matheson erasing Stutzle, respectively. Fowler was calm and collected in net and he seemed to move very little to make his saves.

4) The NHL’s best conmen were back in action in the Canadian Capital during this game, making their second questionable call of the game when Anderson “interfered” with Nikolas Matinpalo at the blue line. The Senators had been pushing the Montreal forwards hard, skating around them while maintaining possession. As Anderson blocked a shot with his stick, it came free of his grasp and the forward took another step and shoved the defenceman into the boards. Despite the fisticuffs and intensity of play during the extended shifts prior, such a call was a laughable attempt to keep a lid on a pressure-cooker game. Fowler was unable to close the door for the Habs when Brady Tkachuk got the puck successfully to Batherson behind Fowler, again, but the play was blown dead by the “official” as a frozen puck. Upon replay, the puck clearly crossed the line, and the goal was clear, but the official announcement from the referees was that the “call on the ice was a goal, and that the play was under review.” Both statements were either inaccurate or unnecessary, but thankfully, there was an official in a position of power to let the crowd know that upon review, there was a legal goal. Thank goodness for the purity of legality.

5) Ottawa took the lead at 1:19 of the first when Stutzle finished off a great play from Batherson and Claude Giroux. Giroux cut off a clearing pass from Carrier, then fed Batherson right in front of Fowler. He made the same move as Kapanen the night previous, except Stutzle came in behind him to bat the bouncing puck past Fowler after it was knocked off Batherson’s stick. The hits continued to batter Montreal in the playoff atmosphere as time expired in the first period at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa.

6) Dobson and Hutson were paired together to start the second period, and were immediately caught on a long shift as the Senators played with more desperation than the visitors. Montreal answered back with Demidov breaking free for a chance and Bolduc pounding Artem Zub behind Ullmark. The netminder made a glorious save on Suzuki, and then the Habs were forced back on the penalty kill when Hutson interfered with Michael Amadio as he tried to get to the net. The play could certainly be reasonably called a penalty in October, and in a game where an identical play did not happen a minute earlier to Josh Anderson. Unfortunately for the Senators, they would be unable to convert on their overt advantage on the scoreboard and instead took a silly minor penalty of their own when Shane Pinto tripped Guhle as he fell in the Habs corner.

7. In the four-on-four, Suzuki and Matheson tried to kill the play for the remaining 13 seconds, but a relentless checking effort from the Senators kept the Habs on edge and almost led to a shorthanded chance for Amadio. The linesman missed a blatant offside call when Dach was five feet inside the Senators’ zone and picked the puck up before passing to Suzuki. What a characteristically embarrassing showing for the striped imposters employed by the National Hockey League! The second power play unit was as disjointed as the officials’ connection to reality, and Ottawa came right back on the attack once the man advantage expired.

8. In the dwindling minutes of the second period, both squads fought hard for each opportunity. Ullmark and Fowler were both needed to keep the score consistent, and turnovers were prominently featured by the bottom of each lineup to grant high-danger scoring chances to premium players. Back on the top line with Caufield out, Texier wrapped around a goal following a truly unique sequence of events. First, Slafkovsky absolutely labelled the far-right post with a wrister at the blue line; Montreal’s defenders had been hyperactive to that point and trusting the forwards to keep the line. The puck ricocheted out of the zone and Ottawa had to be stopped cold by Fowler on a partial break, as well as a follow-up shot. The puck went all the way back up the ice and Texier was positioned perfectly at the post for Hutson to hit with a pass/shot. His wraparound put the puck in Ullmark’s legs and the pad laid on top of the puck rather than blocking it. A clear camera shot reaffirmed the goal call on the ice, and the game was knotted at two.

9. Five minutes into the third, Batherson and Demidov were both called with offsetting minors as Batherson wrapped a free hand around Demidov’s collar to pull him back and consequently, Demidov’s stick got into his face as he passed. The ice opened up for more four-on-four play, the absence of Caufield glaring in the lineup. The Canadiens got the single meaningful chance when Dobson backhanded a broken play towards Ullmark, who made the save he was supposed to to keep the game moving and his skaters stable in front.

10. Lines pushed, got pushed off of pucks, changed, and the next line up would push again for both teams, trying to break through a now tightly defensive game. Montreal began rolling downhill in their average third-period way, maintaining possession along the perimeter in the offensive zone and working shots from the point to the front of the net. Following a despicable non-call in front of Ullmark when Nick Jensen literally took Hutson down without the puck, the Canadiens were full-throttle on the attack. Newhook broke into the zone after getting possession back from his defensemen and put a powerful shot on net. The puck struck Ullmark high on the shoulder and the Swedish Vezina winner did not notice the rebound rattle to his right. Evidently, the Ottawa defenders also failed to register this fact fast enough to stop Demidov from screaming through the gap and shooting it into an empty cage and putting the Habs back ahead. After taking the lead, the Canadiens frantically defended the house from a plethora of attacks and called upon their next young phenom, Jacob Fowler, to close out the game. Do not waste time trying to read about his saves, just go watch the excellence for yourself.

HabsWorld Habs 3 Stars

1st Star – Jacob Fowler 

Throughout the game, Fowler endured both a multitude of shots and pressure put his way, but also an unprecedented amount of physicality. Reminiscent of a hockey game played in May, the rookie netminder stood his ground and moved as economically as Carey Price would have. His calm demeanor in net kept the Habs backstopped to get the tying goal at two and made a crucial blocker save on Giroux with a minute and a half left and then followed it up with an unbelievable series of saves during the last thirty. An absolute first star in this game through and through.

Stats: 32 SV, 2 GA, .941 SV% 

2nd Star – Juraj Slafkovsky

Beyond his goal in the opening frame, the mutant Slovakian winger was a force on the forecheck and helped Suzuki drive play for the top line. In this variety of hockey game, his impact was felt across the lineup as he opened up passing lanes with his shot and back off defenders with his strength. He sprawled out to block shots late in the game and chased down each icing in the third period.

Stats: 1 goal, 1 shot, 3 blocks, 1 hit, 19:43 T.O.I. 

3rd Star – Ivan Demidov

Demidov closed the game for Montreal with his pace and unrelenting drive towards the puck when he chased down Newhook’s rebound. His own skill and agency created the space for Slafkovsky to get a definite goal rather than a quick shot on net. Demidov held his own throughout the intensely physical game and I shudder for the rest of the league when he grows just a bit more into a mature frame.

Stats: 1 goal, 1 assist, 1 hit, 3 shots, 12:50 T.O.I.