Fowler sets Canadiens record for saves by rookie, team 'gave me a chance'

The record-breaking save came at 17:45 of the third period in St. Louis on Tuesday, Montreal Canadiens goalie Jacob Fowler turning aside the 12-foot snap off the stick of Blues forward Connor McMichael. 

It was the 42nd of 46 saves that Fowler would make, his airtight goaltending in Montreal's 2-0 victory, giving him the Canadiens record for most saves in a game by a rookie. In so doing, he anchored his team's third straight victory on its four-game road trip, which concludes against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Thursday (8 p.m. ET, Prime Video, TSN2, RDS). 

With those 46 saves, 24 in the shooting-gallery third period that saw him make a handful of brilliant stops, Fowler passed late Hockey Hall of Famer Tony Esposito, who made 41 on Dec. 21, 1968, and Cayden Primeau, who had 41 on March 12, 2024. Technically, Esposito wasn't yet a rookie, winning the Calder Trophy with the 1969-70 Chicago Black Hawks. 

Fowler even tried a little offense with the Blues having pulled their goalie for a sixth skater, but his shot from just behind his goal line fluttered down near the St. Louis blue line, leaving him laughing behind his mask.

Jacob Fowler speaks to the media in the Canadiens dressing room following his record-setting shutout win in St. Louis.

"A little tired after but we've got a few days off (one, to be precise), so I'm sure I'll be fine," Fowler said postgame, almost assuredly coach Martin St. Louis' goaltending choice against the Stars in Montreal's bid to sweep its road trip. 

Fowler's sixth consecutive win saw him join two other Canadiens Hall of Famers with such a streak at age 21 or younger: Rogie Vachon, enshrined 10 years ago next month, who won six straight in 1966-67 at age 21, and Carey Price, who will be inducted Nov. 9 as a member of the Class of 2026. He won seven straight in 2007-08 at age 20. 

It was Fowler's seventh consecutive road win dating to last season. Only three rookie goalies in NHL history have had a longer run: Brent Johnson (11 wins from 1998-99 to 2000-01), Joseph Woll (eight from 2022-23 to 2023-24), and Pelle Lindbergh (eight from 1982-83). 

Fowler has some work to do if he's to add the Canadiens' all-time rookie-season streak to his ledger. George Hainsworth won 11 straight in 1927, one more than Bill Durnan in 1944 and Vachon in 1968.

Canadiens goalies Tony Esposito (l). and Cayden Primeau, whose 41 saves each were passed Tuesday by the 46 of Jacob Fowler.

Richard Sevigny (1980-81) and Rick Wamsley (1981-82) had streaks of nine wins; with eight are Jacques Plante (1954-55) and Ken Dryden (1971-72). Wayne Thomas had a run of seven in 1973, as did Price in 2007-08. Jakub Dobes, the backup to the streaking Fowler, had seven last season. Vachon, Dryden, Sevigny and Dobes are tied with Fowler at six. 

The NHL record for consecutive wins by a rookie goalie is 12 by Ross Brooks of the Boston Bruins from Dec. 30, 1973, through Feb. 28, 1974. 

Fowler's record-setting win Tuesday was his second shutout this season, the first coming in a rare regulation-time double shutout against the Detroit Red Wings at Bell Centre on Oct. 10. His first shutout in the NHL was a 31-save effort in a 4-0 win against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 20, 2025.

Canadiens goalie Rogie Vachon (l.) and Carey Price during their rookie seasons.

Following 27 saves through 60 minutes and three more in overtime, Fowler made six stops in the shootout against Detroit in what would be a 1-0 Canadiens win, the Red Wings' Daniil Tarasov making 30 saves in 65 minutes. 

"It's a pretty emotional game and I feel like you always stand a little bit taller after a big win," Fowler said that night. "So, I need to bring myself back down to earth a little bit here." 

Suffice to say he did just that, having reeled off five straight wins since that victory. 

The double shutout against Detroit neatly ties Fowler to the late Esposito, who starred in a 0-0 tie against the Bruins and Gerry Cheevers, their future fellow Hall of Famer, at the Montreal Forum on Dec. 21, 1968.

A newspaper report on the 0-0 Montreal Forum tie between the Canadiens and visiting Boston Bruins.

In his seventh NHL start, playing for the Canadiens before he was traded to the Black Hawks, the goalie nicknamed "Tony O" stood on his head against the Bruins and his brother, Phil, gaining a measure of revenge against the Boston sniper. 

In Tony's second game, Phil had beaten his sibling twice in a 2-2 tie at Boston Garden on Dec. 5, 1968. That didn't sit well with everyone in the family. 

"Tony's wife, Marilyn, and our mother said the same thing: 'How could you do that to your brother? You're going to ruin his career before it starts,'" Phil said with a laugh, remembering the night. "I said, 'He played great. He had (35) shots. Somebody had to score. It's part of the game.'" 

The next time the brothers met, 16 nights later in Montreal, Tony made 41 saves, stoning Phil several times in a thrilling 0-0 tie that predated overtime and the shootout. Cheevers turned aside 34 Canadiens shots.

Gerry Cheevers (l). and Tony Esposito, with defenseman Ted Harris, photographed in Montreal Forum action.

The win extended Esposito's undefeated run to seven games (three wins, four ties). 

"It was one of those nights -- so fast, back and forth, wide open," Tony recalled of the second of his 76 NHL shutouts. 

Replied Phil: "You can't get any better than that. You can't write that script. We could have played all night and not scored a goal." 

The goalless tie was lauded by all who witnessed it, even those who came expecting offense from teams that could generate plenty of it.

McFarlane action figures of Tony Esposito and Gerry Cheevers in the uniforms of the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins.

McFarlane action figures of Tony Esposito and Gerry Cheevers in the uniforms of the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins. 

"The best game I've watched since I've been in the League," said Harry Sinden, the Bruins' third-year coach and future architect of its 1970 and 1972 Stanley Cup champions. 

"I have never seen so many players on two teams work so hard," said Canadiens coach Claude Ruel, a rookie behind Montreal's bench but a scouting veteran of more than a decade. 

"Never mind the last few years, this was the best all-around contest at the Forum in about 10 seasons," said legendary broadcaster Danny Gallivan. 

Fowler will have to take your word for all this magic that transpired 36 years before he was born Nov. 24, 2004. 

"I'm just happy the team gave me a chance," he said Tuesday, spreading the credit among his defensemen who he said gave him a clear look at incoming shots. "Can't say enough good things about them … got lucky tonight." 

Top photo: Canadiens goalie Jacob Fowler foils St. Louis Blues forward Jonatan Berggren during Montreal's 2-0 win in St. Louis on Oct. 27, 2026.