Pascal Vincent tried riding the goaltender who got his Laval Rocket to the playoffs in the Eastern Conference Final. He gave Cayden Primeau the chance to guide the Montreal Canadiens’ farm team to the Calder Cup Final, giving him the nod for the first three games of the Eastern Conference final, and it hasn’t gone according to plan. The Laval outfit is down 3-0 in the series, has been outscored 15-4 and the starter has been pulled in the last two games. The Rocket is still alive, and before it’s too late, Vincent decided to give Jacob Fowler the net.
Is it not too late, though? A comeback series win after being down 0-3 has happened three times in AHL history. The Rochester Americans did it in 1960, the Adirondack Red Wings did it in 1989, and the Wilkes/Barre Penguins did it in 1989. Interestingly, last season, the Cleveland Monsters were down 0-3 against the Hershey Bears in the Eastern Conference final before winning the next three games, but they came up just short, losing game seven 3-2 in overtime.
Canadiens: Potential First Round Pick - Malcolm Spence
Canadiens: The Grades Are In – Emil Heineman
Two Former Canadiens Appear On The Never Offside Podcast
Vincent says Fowler likes playing under the headlights, and he believes he’s the kind of goaltender who could pull this off. It’s hard to argue with the bench boss. While the 20-year-old goaltender’s team, the Boston College Eagles, didn’t go very far in the NCAA playoffs this season after making the Frozen Four final the year before, it wasn’t on Fowler. In their first-round game against the Bentley Falcons, he gave up a single goal in a 3-1 win. Then, against the reigning national champions, the Denver Pioneers, he gave up two goals in a 3-1 defeat.
So far, in his limited AHL experience, the rookie netminder has two regular-season wins in three outings, with a goals-against average of 2.32 and a save percentage of .914. In the playoffs, he has a 3-2 record with a 2.38 goals against average (GAA) and a .906 save percentage (SV%).
In the last two games in which he came in relief of Primeau, he has surrendered a single goal, for two goals in roughly 60 minutes on 25 shots faced, giving him a .920 SV. Meanwhile, Primeau faced 53 shots, against which he allowed 12 goals, for a .774 SV. While he hasn’t been the sole culprit in the three losses, this is hardly the kind of performance that allows a team to play with confidence.
The puck drop for game four is set for 7:00 PM tonight in Charlotte and will be broadcast on RDS’ main channel. Tune in to see if Fowler can turn the tide for the Rocket.
Photo credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images
Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News, never to miss a story.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.