Why Jacob Fowler Should Not Be The Montreal Canadiens' Playoff Starter

Montreal Canadiens rookie goalie Jacob Fowler has received massive praise this week after a strong performance.

After a brief NHL stint earlier in the season, Fowler was called up from AHL Laval on Wednesday. He was stellar against the Ottawa Senators that evening, stopping 32 of 34 shots and making a huge save in the final minute to help the Habs win 3-2 in regulation.

Since then, experts, including TSN's Craig Button, have already said Fowler will give the Canadiens the best chance of success in the playoffs.

"I don't have any question in my mind the Game 1 starter will be Jacob Fowler," Button said on Jay on SC Wednesday night.

Not so fast.

Yes, the Canadiens' main area of concern is their goaltending. The Habs goalie with the most experience – Samuel Montembeault – has struggled for most of this season and feels very much like the third choice to start Game 1 of the playoffs. That leaves two youngsters – Jakub Dobes and Fowler – as the options for Montreal coach Martin St-Louis.

But it should be Dobes' crease, not Fowler's.

Fowler had a great game on Wednesday, and he had a few decent performances from December to January during his first call-up. But the 21-year-old only has 11 NHL games of experience. His .906 save percentage and 2.56 goals-against average are based on a smaller sample size than Dobes, who has an .892 SP and 2.97 GAA in 31 games.

Fowler's also gone 5-4-2 in net, while Dobes has gone 21-6-4. And if we want to look at recent performances, Dobes has a save percentage of .923 or better in three of the past four games and five of the past eight.

You can see why St-Louis wants to give Fowler a shot right now, but you can also see why he would go with the more experienced goalie and pick Dobes over Fowler in the playoffs.

It's true Fowler isn't as well-scouted as Dobes has been this season, but putting him into a high-pressure situation like starting in the playoffs could be disastrous for him.

Fowler is just one year removed from being an NCAA goalie – and although he did perform well at that level, the history of the NHL is littered with collegiate-level netminders who got picked apart by elite shooters. And if you're worried about Fowler's long-term development, you probably don't want to throw him to the wolves in the post-season and cross your fingers in the hope he can handle it.

Now, if Dobes starts Game 1 in the playoffs and doesn't get the job done, St-Louis could turn to Fowler at that point and ask him to save Montreal's season. But Dobes has done most of the heavy lifting for the Habs this season, so we'd give him the first chance to step up his game and rise to the occasion.

Hughes made a tactical decision by not trading for a goaltender at the trade deadline. And although picking Dobes over Fowler could prove to be the wrong decision, we believe it not only rewards Dobes for helping Montreal get to where they are this season but also puts the team's trust in someone who has won far more often than not in 2025-26.

And if Fowler has to come in to save the day for the Habs in the post-season, St-Louis can rest assured he gave Dobes every opportunity to make the starter's job his own in the playoffs. 

Thus, it's a smart decision to go with Dobes in Game 1, regardless of who Montreal's first-round opponent turns out to be. The Canadiens could've traded for someone with a championship pedigree like St. Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington, but the Habs went in a different direction. And now, Hughes and St-Louis have to go with the more proven youngster to get the chance to steer the team to a first-round playoff win and beyond.

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