PITTSBURGH -- Jacob Fowler made 33 saves in his NHL debut, and the Montreal Canadiens won 4-2 against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday. Fowler, a 21-year-old rookie, was selected in the third round (No. 69) of the 2023 NHL Draft.

The Pittsburgh Penguins will host the Montreal Canadiens for the first time this season on Thursday night. It will be the first of three meetings between these two teams after the Penguins won all three meetings last year. They outscored the Canadiens 18-6 in those three games.

Montreal Canadiens goaltenders have struggled throughout the 2025-26 season and may force the team to make a major move.

The Montreal Canadiens recalled goaltending prospect Jacob Fowler, and the timing raised plenty of questions. With the team's current netminders struggling and

Xhekaj has appeared in 27 games so far this season with the Canadiens, where he has recorded one assist, 21 blocks, 57 hits, 55 penalty minutes, and a minus-7 rating. This comes after the 24-year-old defeneman posted one goal, six points, 118 penalty minutes, and 180 hits in 70 games for the Canadiens this past season.

The Canadiens are turning to rookie netminder Jacob Fowler as they attempt to solve their goaltending struggles.

The famous quote from Mike Tyson is, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

This is because Bergevin has hired Therrien as Team Canada's head coach for the upcoming Spengler Cup, which takes place from Dec. 26 to Dec. 31. It will also be held in Davos, Switzerland.