Jacob Fowler
Fowler is Montreal's lead goalie right now, but that rests on six starts, and the club has not said how the job is split once Samuel Montembeault is healthy.
Role
He is the starter in a rotation with Jakub Dobes. Fox Sports and ESPN's fantasy blurbs from around the 25 October Heritage Classic say he has pushed Dobes into the backup role. He had started three of the previous five games in an alternating pattern with Dobes, then took the Winnipeg start on 25 October (33 saves on 34 shots in a 2-1 win, per ESPN). NHL.com's 25 October projected lineup lists Fowler and Dobes as the goalies and Montembeault (lower body) as injured. Dobes has struggled early, per Fox Sports. Montembeault is the third name competing for starts, and I found no return date. A note on our data: the 6 GP, 5 W line we hold matches this season's six starts in these sources (5-1-0, 1.79 GAA, .924 SV%), while they put last season at 17 games. I am using the sourced current figures only.
He has won five straight, ranked fourth in the NHL in goals saved above expected (BVM Sports, 25 October), and held Winnipeg to one goal while being outshot 34-21. Fox Sports and ESPN call him the goalie of the future, with the future arriving now, and Yardbarker argues Montreal should keep riding him. He outplayed Dobes, who was expected to be ahead of him coming into the season.
The sample is six starts, and some of the early run was soft: .885 on 26 shots against Buffalo on 17 October and .813 on 16 shots in another Buffalo game (ESPN game log). The extra starts were also partly driven by Montembeault's absence (Fox Sports). Dobes was seen as the incumbent, and Montembeault's return would make three goalies for two spots. BVM Sports says the goaltending picture could change.
Where analysts split
The open question is whether Fowler keeps the majority of starts once Montembeault returns, or whether the club goes back to a Montembeault/Dobes arrangement. Fox Sports and ESPN say Fowler has already taken the top job. BVM Sports says the picture could change as Montembeault and Dobes sort themselves out. I found no coach or beat-writer statement settling it.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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