Jacob Fowler made a career-high 46 saves for the shutout in the Montreal Canadiens’ 2-0 road win over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.
The Canadiens are on a three-game winning streak, all on the road. The Habs are on a five-game (4-0-1) points streak and are 6-1-1 in their last eight games.
St. Louis outshot Montreal by a 46-20 margin, including a whopping 24-3 edge in the third period. Despite all the pressure, the Blues couldn’t solve Fowler in the rookie goaltender’s latest sensational performance.
Fowler has two shutouts over the course of a six-game winning streak, plus a .942 save percentage in his seven total games this season.
Since the 1955-56 season, only 25 Montreal goalies have recorded more than 46 saves in a regular-season game.
Zack Bolduc and Florian Xhekaj scored for the Habs, and Mike Matheson had two assists.
The Blues are on a two-game losing streak and goal-less streak, as the Carolina Hurricanes also blanked St. Louis by a 4-0 score on Saturday.
Jordan Binnington stopped 18 of 20 shots.
Philip Broberg led the Blues with six shots against Fowler. Jake Neighbours had five shots and perhaps the closest call of the game, as Neighbours rang a shot off the goalpost 13:20 into the first period.
The Habs opened the scoring 8:37 into the second period when Matheson sent a tremendous pass to Bolduc for a one-timer from the front edge of the circle.
Bolduc’s goal came three seconds after a Montreal power play expired, so the Canadiens officially went 0-for-3 with the extra attacker on Tuesday. The Habs’ struggling power-play unit is only 4-for-35 in 12 games.
At the 2:17 mark of the third period, Xhekaj’s first NHL goal had to be confirmed by a video review. Xhekaj’s tip-in of a Matheson shot was ruled to not be a high stick, giving Xhekaj his milestone in his ninth career NHL game.
Binnington spent most of the last seven minutes on the bench, as St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery pulled his goalie unusually early in the third period. This extended 6-on-5 stretch contributed to the Blues’ 24-3 shots advantage in the third period, yet Fowler held his ground and the Canadiens were continually able to ice the puck.
