Canadiens' goaltender Jacob Fowler gets brutally honest on facing Sidney Crosby in NHL debut appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
Jacob Fowler's dream is to follow in the footsteps of all the Montreal Canadiens ' great goaltenders before him and become the team's leader. While it is earlier than most expected, making 36 saves in your NHL debut against the Pittsburgh Penguins is a great start. For kids growing up in the United States in the 2010s, there aren't many bigger teams than the Penguins , which made the night all the more special for Fowler, according to the Canadiens' official X account.
"[Sidney] Crosby and [Marc-Andre] Fleury were my favorite players growing up, so it's hard not to notice when he's on the ice," Fowler shared with reporters after the game.
Sidney Crosby managed to record one assist on his team's first goal, but Fowler will remember this game for stopping the seven shots directed towards him by the Penguins' captain. The Canadiens' newest goaltender had a shutout broken just 44 seconds into the third period.
While Fowler wasn't able to record a shutout in his debut game, his performance is still a massive improvement over the goaltending that Montreal was getting from Sam Montembeault and Jakub Dobes . There will likely be plenty of questions about where Montreal goes from here, as Dobes doesn't necessarily deserve to get sent to Laval, but he seems like the most logical option.
Dobes won't need to go through waivers to go to the AHL, and the Canadiens won't necessarily want to keep three goaltenders on the roster. However, it's worth wondering how Montembeault would feel about being the rookie's backup. If Jacob Fowler can continue his form from Thursday night, there will be some tough conversations coming in Montreal.
Related: Canadiens turning to rookie vs. Penguins amid goaltending struggles
