The Canadiens recalled Jacob Fowler from Laval on Wednesday, hours after Samuel Montembeault got hurt at practice.
Teams don't pull a goalie up from the AHL on a whim. Whatever happened on the ice this morning, Montreal wanted cover in the building before Thursday.
The Canadiens host Nashville tomorrow night. And the crease suddenly looks a lot thinner than it did when they walked off the ice last night.
Jakub Dobes has carried the load so far. He's been in net for all three decisions this season, with a .857 save percentage to show for it.
Last night was rough. Carolina put 33 shots on him at home and five got through in a 6-4 loss.
The Canadiens have now dropped two straight. They sit seventh in their division, and the early-season optimism is already getting tested.
Martin St-Louis now has a crease decision before Nashville
That's the real question for Martin St-Louis heading into Thursday. Does he ride Dobes again, or hand the net to the goalie who just arrived from Laval?
A recall doesn't guarantee Fowler a start. Right now, Montreal simply needed a healthy body on the bench behind Dobes before puck drop.
But the calendar isn't kind. After Nashville, Detroit visits Saturday, then Buffalo at home and Washington on the road land on a back-to-back next Tuesday and Wednesday.
Four games in seven days. Back-to-backs almost always mean a second goalie gets the call, so leaning on Dobes for every minute isn't realistic.
Here's what nobody should miss. The goaltending isn't the root problem in Montreal.
The Canadiens are allowing 4.7 goals per game. That number belongs to the whole group, from the blue line out.
Dropping a recalled goalie behind that structure is like asking a new roofer to fix a leak while the storm's still blowing. He's getting wet no matter how good he is.
The offense has held up its end. Zachary Bolduc has three goals in three games, and the team has scored 12 overall.
There's a money angle too. Montembeault carries a $3,150,000 cap hit, more than three times the $965,000 Dobes counts against the cap.
Kent Hughes is about to find out how deep his goaltending really runs, and he's finding out this early in the season.
Nashville won't make it easy either. The Predators come in off a 5-4 overtime loss in Toronto and have scored just 7 goals in three games.
So who's in the crease Thursday? And if Montembeault's absence stretches past this homestand, does Hughes go shopping, or trust a goalie from Laval to hold the fort?
-
Should Martin St-Louis start Jacob Fowler against Nashville on Thursday?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Calgary Flames complete a two-player move and add scoring help in midst of troubles
