The Montreal Canadiens barely showed up for their game against the Tampa Bay Lightning last night. Outskated, outplayed, and outscored rather soundly by their divisional rivals, one could be forgiven for assuming it was the Habs, and not the Lightning who had played the night prior in Toronto. It was a truly atrocious performance in front of their home fans, many of whom left early in the third period to beat the traffic.
Management obviously took notice as well, as there would be some traffic coming into Montreal from Laval as well.
Les Canadiens ont rappelé Owen Beck, Adam Engstrom et Jacob Fowler du Rocket de Laval.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 10, 2025
The Canadiens have recalled Owen Beck, Adam Engstrom and Jacob Fowler from the Laval Rocket.
Owen Beck and Adam Engstrom are being recalled for relatively obvious reasons. Over the last few games, the Habs have given up far too many quality chances against, and they won’t get out of this funk if they can’t defend better. They’re hoping these two can stop the bleeding, and afford this team the opportunity to play without giving up goals on every other shot.
Jacob Fowler is an interesting decision, because he has looked every bit like an NHL goaltender through his 15 games with the Rocket. Still, it is tough to see him having much success with the Habs if they can’t stop their aforementioned bleeding of high-danger scoring chances. It’s a pretty big risk, because he might be able to get them a few extra saves on these chances, but expecting a 21-year-old rookie to step in and fix their problems on his own is a tall task.
That being said, plenty of fans have been asking for Fowler for some time. Even when the Habs were playing well, goaltending was an issue that cost them points on more than one occasion. If they can get back to playing more sound defensive hockey, him giving them an extra save or two could be the difference between wins and losses. It is a risk, but one they can mitigate, and even benefit from, if they can improve outside of the crease.
We don’t yet know if he’ll be starting their next game, but with how fast Kent Hughes executed three recalls following last night’s game, we can definitely expect a different looking lineup for the Habs tomorrow night.
Click the play button below to listen to your full Bottom Six Minutes, also available wherever you get your podcasts. We’ll be back on Thursday night when the new-look Habs meet the Pittsburgh Penguins on the road.
