It was a tedious victory, extracted from a stubborn Detroit team the way a dentist pulls a recalcitrant tooth, one millimetre at a time.
Even after Zachary Bolduc finally broke the deadlock in the shootout Saturday, it remained for Jacob Fowler to make one more save to preserve his shutout, his first star and a win that was as important as any can be early in the season, 1-0 over the Red Wings.
Only four games (and three points) into an 84-game season, and already the critics were circling after an overtime loss in Pittsburgh, a poor showing against Carolina and a dominant outing against Nashville that resulted in a loss.
Winger Cole Caufield and Jacob Fowler celebrate the Canadiens’ shootout victory over the Detroit Red Wings in Montreal on Saturday. Tim Snow / Montreal Gazette
The club needed a win to prevent an outbreak of mass hysteria and Fowler reacted brilliantly. It’s not possible for a goaltender to play better than he did Saturday, both during regulation and while making six consecutive masterful saves during the shootout. (Our Bluesky friend, drummer Denis Fournier, dubbed him “Wowler” after that star turn.)
Temperamentally, Fowler and Jakub Dobes are complete opposites. Dobes is Patrick Roy — quirky, funny, fiery, doing things his way. Fowler is as calm as Ken Dryden or, if you want to go further back, he’s cool as the Chicoutimi Cucumber, Georges Vézina, whose name is on the trophy that goes to the league’s best goaltender.
Who’s better? I suspect we’ll spend much of the next few seasons figuring it out. A half-dozen NHL teams can’t find a goaltender to save a GM’s job, while the Canadiens have two splendid youngsters set to battle it out. I wouldn’t presume to pick a favourite.
Now about those Larkin chants: Dylan Larkin was gracious and plainly surprised after the “we want Larkin” chants at the Bell Centre Saturday night. A man who has made himself the biggest villain in Detroit was clearly pleased to be wanted somewhere. As for whether that is enough for him to expand a trade list that includes zero Canadian teams, we’ll have to wait and see.
Supposedly, the Canadiens are interested. I wish the rumour-mongers who circulate baseless reports could be banned from this business. On the surface, Larkin simply doesn’t seem like a Kent Hughes player. Hughes values character (as I do) and while Larkin is a valuable two-way player on the ice, he’s also a malcontent in the Brady Tkachuk/Connor Hellebuyck mode and in my experience, players who are unhappy in one place tend to be unhappy everywhere.
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Neither is Larkin a premier plan centreman. A very good second-liner, yes — but not even close to the level of Connor McDavid or Nathan MacKinnon. And do you dump an unhappy player into a lineup of cheerful young players? The Canadiens have worked overtime to build a certain kind of culture — close-knit, mutually supportive, willing to take less in order to build a genuine, long-term contender. Jeopardize all that at your peril.
Above all, are you going to give up a Michael Hage for this guy? My answer would be a hard no. Hage is not only younger and cheaper, but has many more years to excel. He also fits the mould with this team — young, highly intelligent, easy to work with and perhaps destined to be a far better player than Larkin (another University of Michigan star) will ever be.
In my view, the Canadiens are still taking the long view. Hage might be available as soon as the 2027 playoffs. Beyond that, he’s a key part of the future for a team so carefully built — a team that could be torn apart by one wrong character.
Larkin was the captain of a team that did not make the playoffs during the six seasons he wore the “C” on his jersey. Winning follows some players around. Dylan Larkin is not one of them.
Lies, rumours &&&& vicious innuendo: Fowler played a great game Saturday — but it helped that Kaiden Guhle was back. It is a better team with Guhle in the lineup. Once the best prospect in the Canadiens’ system, Guhle is a beast — big, physical and a standout on defence. And he brings out the best in Arber Xhekaj. …
Canadiens defenceman Kaiden Guhle fans on a shot during the first period against the Detroit Red Wings in Montreal on Saturday. Vincent Ethier / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Chicago White Sox are one of the best stories in sports this year. They even managed to lure me back into the game for a series or two. If only they could hit a baseball. …
Jayden Struble may not quite have had the talent to hang onto a spot on a team with as much blue-line depth as the Canadiens have, but he was an honest player who gave it all he had. We wish him well in Nashville, where the weather is better and the music is … well, we hope you like country, Jayden.
Heroes: Zachary Bolduc, Alexandre Texier, Phillip Danault, Kaiden Guhle, Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Lane Hutson, A’ja Wilson, Zheng Qinwen, Gabriela Dabrowski, Lionel Messi, Davis Alexander, Tyson Philpot, &&&& last but not least, Jacob Fowler.
Zeros: Dylan Larkin, Connor Hellebuyck, Brady Tkachuk, Mike Babcock, Alexander Ovechkin, Kawhi Leonard, Jim Harbaugh, Lane Kiffin, Cristiano Ronaldo, Arch Manning, Manchester City, Bud Selig Jr., Claude Brochu, &&&& last but not least, David Samson and Jeffrey Loria.
Now and forever.
