Fowler makes 36 saves in NHL debut, Canadiens defeat Penguins

PITTSBURGH -- Jacob Fowler made 36 saves in his NHL debut, and the Montreal Canadiens won 4-2 against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday.

Fowler was selected in the third round (No. 69) of the 2023 NHL Draft.

“I mean, I could have played anywhere tonight,” Fowler said. “And to get your first win, it’s going to be special. But been to a lot of games here. Grew up a Pittsburgh fan. (Sidney) Crosby and (Marc-Andre) Fleury were my favorite players growing up.”

The 21-year-old rookie made seven saves on Crosby.

“It’s hard not to notice when he’s on the ice,” Fowler said. “And you want to stop him every time he shoots.”

Cole Caufield scored for the third time in four games, and Lane Hutson and Juraj Slafkovsky each had two assists for the Canadiens (16-11-3), who lost 6-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.

Bryan Rust had a goal and an assist, and Tristan Jarry made 25 saves for the Penguins (14-8-7), who have lost three straight (0-1-2).

The game was delayed 30 minutes due to an accident on a local highway.

“It was a late start for them too,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse said. “I just thought it was a combination of execution. We were slow to get to areas, slow to support.”

Alexandre Texier put Montreal ahead 1-0 on its second shot on goal at 2:54 of the first period, stealing the puck from Kris Letang and carrying it to the slot for a snap shot and his first goal this season.

Brendan Gallagher made it 2-0 at 4:37 of the second period by taking a cross-ice pass from Hutson in the left face-off circle for a wrist shot past Jarry’s blocker.

“It’s always nice to contribute,” said Gallagher, who scored for the second time in 30 games this season. “But just nice to win a hockey game here. I thought a lot of guys put in a good effort tonight. If it continues, we’ll be in a good spot.”

Caufield then extended the lead to 3-0 on a power play at 10:18 with a wrist shot from below the goal line that went in off Jarry’s skate for his 17th goal this season.

Fowler made a pair of saves on a Penguins power play to maintain the lead, going to the top of the crease to stop a slap shot from Ben Kindel in the slot at 11:25 and pushing right to deny a one-timer from Erik Karlsson on the rebound one second later.

“He was solid. We had some good looks,” Crosby said. “He looked pretty good in there. It would have been nice to get a little bit more traffic in front of him and test him more that way. The pucks that he was able to see, he did a good job.”

Owen Beck seemed to score his first NHL goal for Montreal at 16:21, but it was overturned when the play was ruled offside on a Pittsburgh challenge.

Rust cut it to 3-1 by chipping in a backhand pass from Crosby 44 seconds into the third period.

Oliver Kapanen scored 15 seconds later, tapping in Slafkovsky’s pass to make it 4-1 at 59 seconds.

“It was good to get it back right away, you know?” Slafkovsky said. “Got back up by three goals. It gives you a little calmness on the bench too”

Karlsson pulled Pittsburgh to within 4-2 on a power play and with the extra attacker at 15:07, scoring his second this season on a point shot through traffic.

The Penguins had 34 shots on goal in the final two periods after being held to four in the first.

“For whatever reason, I don't think we had our legs,” Rust said. “I don't think we were executing very well. Thought we were seeing plays. It’s just our passing wasn't crisp. That kind of thing can slow things down a lot and we can get really disconnected.”

NOTES: Crosby reached 1,719 NHL points (643 goals, 1,719 assists) with an assist on Rust’s goal and is four points behind Mario Lemieux (1,723) for the Penguins record. ... Fowler, born in Melbourne, Florida, became the first Florida-born goalie in NHL history. … Fowler is the fourth Canadiens goalie to make his first NHL start against the Penguins, joining Ken Dryden (March 14, 1971), Patrick Roy (Oct. 10, 1985) and Carey Price (Oct. 10, 2007). He is the fourth Montreal goalie in the past 10 years to win his debut, following Mike Condon (Oct. 11, 2015), Charlie Lindgren (April 7, 2016) and Jakub Dobes (Dec. 28, 2024). … Canadiens forward Jake Evans did not play due to personal reasons. He is expected to join the team for a game at the New York Rangers on Saturday.