The Montreal Canadiens have called up top goaltending prospect Jacob Fowler as the team searches for a solution to their woes between the pipes this season.

Both Jakub Dobes and Sam Montembeault have struggled this season, combining to post a .874 save percentage and a 3.55 goals-against average for the Canadiens, who have tumbled from the top of the Atlantic Division a month ago to outside the playoff picture.

Calling up Fowler from the AHL’s Laval Rocket came after the Canadiens were blown out in a 6-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on home ice Tuesday. Dobes got the start but was pulled after allowing three goals on 14 shots in the first period. Montembeault entered and allowed the final three goals on 13 shots in 40 minutes of work.

The Canadiens have gone 5-7-1 over the past month, including a five-game winless streak from Nov. 11-20 that saw the team outscored 27-8. Montreal is 2-4 over their past six games since, thanks to two shootout wins, but have been outscored 25-13 over that span.

“I think we’ve got to be a lot more mature,” winger Cole Caufield said after Tuesday’s ugly affair. “We can’t let games get out of hand like that. We’ve got to find ways to stop it and get the momentum back. We’ve just got to be a lot better. It’s pretty frustrating right now.”

The 24-year-old Dobes has seen his numbers drop off significantly after a 6-0-0 start to the season in October. He posted a .930 save percentage over that stretch but followed that up with a 2-3-2 record in November with a .849 mark, while his GAA ballooned from 1.97 to 4.42. On the season, Dobes has a 10-5-2 record with a 3.03 GAA and a .887 save percentage.

Montembeault’s season has been marked by struggles. The 29-year-old has a 5-6-1 record with a .857 save percentage and a 3.61 goals-against average. He opened the year with a .842 save percentage in October, which improved to .878 in November. Through two appearances in December, his save percentage sits at .810.

When Fowler makes his NHL debut and whether he can offer a solution for the reeling Canadiens remains to be seen.

The 21-year-old native of Melbourne, Fla., has opened his first full professional season with a 10-5-0 record in 15 games with the Rocket. He has a .919 save percentage and 2.08 goals-against average this season after posting a 2-1-0 mark in three games with Laval to end last season with a .914 save percentage and a 2.32 GAA. He backstopped the Rocket to a 3-3 record in the postseason.

Selected 69th overall in the 2023 draft, Fowler spent the past two seasons dominating the NCAA at Boston College. He went 25-7-2 last season with a sparkling .940 save percentage and 32-6-1 in his freshman season with a .926 save percentage.

The Canadiens are hitting the road for a two-game road trip starting Thursday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, with a clash against the New York Rangers on Saturday. Starting Thursday, Montreal will play eight games over the span of just 13 days.