When Jacob Fowler recorded a shutout on Saturday night, he became the third-youngest Montreal Canadiens' netminder to do so, after goaltending legends Patrick Roy and Carey Price.
The stage was set for Sidney Crosby to write another page of history on Saturday night at the Bell Centre. The Pittsburgh Penguins captain was set to tie and then break Mario Lemieux’s record for the most points in franchise history, but the Montreal Canadiens, led by Jacob Fowler, refused to let him do it.
Instead, it was Fowler who wrote a page of history for himself. In just his fourth career start, the 21-year-old recorded the first shutout of what promises to be a great career. By stopping all 30 shots, the Florida native became the third-youngest netminder in Habs history to blank his opponent.
Who did it at a younger age? Franchise icon Patrick Roy recorded his first perfect game at the tender age of 20 years and 102 days. On January 15, 1986, the Ste-Foy native stopped the 19 shots he faced in a 4-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets. At the other end of the ice was a netminder he had grown up idolizing, Daniel Bouchard, which made the feat even more special.
The winningest goaltender in Habs’ history, Carey Price, was the second-youngest goaltender to record a shutout with the Sainte-Flanelle, at 20 years and 184 days. On February 16, 2008, the masked man recorded 34 saves in a 1-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. It was the first of 49 shutouts in the Anahim Lake native, the third most in team history (Jacques Plante had 58 and Georges Hainsworth 75).
Fowler needed to make 30 saves on Saturday night to record his first shutout, and he did it at 21 years and 26 days, which is very young in goaltending terms. It often takes quite a while for netminders to find success in the NHL. He might have been older than Roy and Price, but he did it in just his fourth game while the former needed 22 games and the latter 23.
There’s no telling how Fowler’s career will unfold yet, but so far, so good as they say. He has been labelled as the goaltender of the future, but right now, he’s doing his very best to be the goaltender of the present as well. The Habs’ goaltending woes this season opened the door for him, and he stepped right up. It will be interesting to see how events unfold in the Canadiens’ crease in the days and weeks to come.
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