Jacob Fowler recalled as Montembeault suffers practice injury

The Montreal Canadiens moved quickly to shore up their crease on Wednesday, recalling goaltender Jacob Fowler from the Laval Rocket after Samuel Montembeault was injured at practice. Montembeault appeared to favour his right leg as he left the ice following a save attempt, prompting the club to bring in reinforcements the same day.

The transaction could be partly precautionary, given that Laval is idle until Saturday, but the timing suggests the Canadiens are preparing to be without Montembeault for at least the short term. The team is expected to provide more clarity on his status on Thursday once medical evaluations are complete.

Montembeault under evaluation, no timeline yet

Speaking after Wednesday’s skate, head coach Martin St. Louis told reporters he did not yet have an update because Montembeault was still undergoing tests. Montembeault had earned a roster spot out of training camp ahead of Fowler, but has yet to appear in any of Montreal’s first three regular-season games.

His setback leaves the Canadiens in an uncertain position in goal heading into Thursday’s home game against the Nashville Predators. If Montembeault is ruled out, Montreal will rely on a tandem of Fowler and Jakub Dobeš, who has handled the early-season starts.

Fowler’s strong AHL showing contrasts Dobeš’s struggles

Fowler joins the Canadiens on the back of an impressive opening weekend in the American Hockey League. He started both games of a back-to-back against the Syracuse Crunch, posting one win and one loss while allowing an average of 1.53 goals per game and stopping 94.5 percent of the shots he faced.

Dobeš, meanwhile, has hit a rough patch, having surrendered 12 goals over his last two outings. That recent form, combined with Fowler’s early success in Laval, makes it plausible that the rookie could see action quickly in Montreal and is even a candidate to start against Nashville, depending on how the Montembeault situation unfolds.

Regardless of who gets the net on Thursday, Fowler’s recall underlines how fragile the Canadiens’ goaltending depth is to start the season. The forthcoming medical update on Montembeault will go a long way toward determining whether this is a brief adjustment or the beginning of a longer-term reshuffle in Montreal’s crease.