- Montreal called up Jacob Fowler from AHL Laval hours after Samuel Montembeault got hurt at practice
- The Canadiens host the Predators on Thursday with Montembeault still being evaluated
- Read below for the video of the Montembeault injury and what Fowler brings to the crease
The Canadiens aren’t waiting around on Samuel Montembeault.
Montreal recalled goaltender Jacob Fowler from the Laval Rocket on Wednesday afternoon, a few hours after Montembeault hurt his right leg at practice in Brossard.
There’s no official word on Montembeault yet, and the team didn’t tie the two moves together. Martin St. Louis told reporters after practice that his goalie was still being evaluated.
Even so, Laval doesn’t play again until Saturday. Pulling Fowler up the same day means Montreal wants a healthy goalie on hand Thursday, when the Predators visit the Bell Centre.
RDS reporter Patrick Friolet was first to flag the injury. He wrote that Montembeault was “visibly bothered” in his right leg after making a save and left the ice quickly:
Take a look at the moment Montembeault went down:
Fowler shows up in good form. The 21-year-old played both ends of a back-to-back against the Syracuse Crunch last weekend, going 1-1 with a 1.53 goals-against average and a .945 save percentage.
He’s been here before, too. Fowler went 9-6-2 with a 2.43 GAA, a .908 save percentage and one shutout in 17 games for Montreal last season, finishing the year as Jakub Dobes’ backup. Montembeault won the job out of camp this fall, and Fowler went back to Laval.
Dobes is the other half of this. He has started all three games for the 1-1-1 Canadiens and allowed 11 goals on 62 shots over the last two, a 6-5 overtime loss in Pittsburgh and a 6-4 loss to Carolina in Tuesday’s home opener.
Montembeault still hasn’t played a minute this season and was lined up to start against Nashville. If he can’t go, St. Louis has to choose between another night for a struggling Dobes or Fowler’s first NHL start of 2026-27.
