It is only fitting that on the night the Montreal Canadiens honour Carey Price for being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, the goalie who is constantly compared to the Habs great gets the start against the Minnesota Wild.
The team confirmed that Jacob Fowler will start as they continue to ride the hot hand in net. The decision is hardly surprising, considering how spectacular Fowler has been this season. He holds an 8-1-1 record, and what makes it more impressive is that he did not start the season on the Canadiens’ roster.
After impressing during his stint with the team last year, this season was supposed to be a development year for Fowler, with Samuel Montembeault looking like his old self during the preseason. Unfortunately for Montembeault, he sustained an injury in practice before his first start of the season, opening the door for Fowler to shine.
Fowler has made the most of that opportunity. Jakub Dobes's early-season struggles helped Fowler establish himself as the Canadiens' No. 1 goalie, and if he continues at this pace, he may never relinquish it. As the Canadiens honour the past with Price, Fowler looks like the future. However, he will have his work cut out for him against another one of the NHL's hottest young goaltenders, Jesper Wallstedt.
Price admires Fowler’s game
It is hard not to compare Fowler to Price just based on the style in which both goaltenders play. Both have been praised for being positionally sound, rarely wasting movement when positioning themselves to make a save. However, what might be the most obvious similarity in their game is their ability to remain calm no matter what is happening around them. It is not just fans and media who have noticed the similarities. Even Price has acknowledged them.
“Yeah, Jacob Fowler. I watch him play and he just reminds me a lot of me when I was his age,” Price said earlier this year on the Never Offside podcast.
Price's admiration for Fowler has not changed. Even during a weekend dedicated to celebrating his Hall of Fame induction, the former Canadiens goaltender had plenty of praise for the team's emerging star.
“He's got a really quiet game, it's what I love about him. He's just fundamentally sound. Takes a certain type of personality and mentality to be a goaltender and be a goaltender in Montreal,” Price said. Receiving praise from one of the Canadiens' all-time greats is one thing, but Fowler still has plenty to prove on the ice. His upcoming matchup against Minnesota could be one of his toughest tests yet.
Fowler and Wallstedt among the NHL's best
While Price's Hall of Fame recognition will dominate the headlines, the game against Minnesota will also feature a matchup between two of the NHL's best young goaltenders.
Standing in the crease for Minnesota will be Wallstedt, who might be playing better than any other goalie in the NHL. Last year was his first full season in the NHL, but he played second fiddle to Filip Gustavsson for most of it. With Gustavsson starting the season on injured reserve, Wallstedt seized the opportunity to establish himself as Minnesota's No. 1 goalie, and he has been outstanding. He leads the league in wins (11), is fourth in goals-against average (1.99), and third in save percentage (.922). According to Money Puck, Wallstedt also leads the NHL in goals saved above expected, with 13.3. The goalie right behind him in that category is none other than Fowler.
Fowler sits just behind Wallstedt with 11.4 goals saved above expected and could close the gap with another strong performance. His season numbers are not much different from Wallstedt's, either. Fowler is sixth in the league in wins, sixth in goals-against average (2.15), second in save percentage (.925), and has two shutouts compared to Wallstedt's zero.
At just 21 and 23 years old, respectively, Fowler and Wallstedt are not only two of the NHL's hottest goaltenders but could also represent the next generation of stars between the pipes.
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