Call of the Wilde: Montreal Canadiens rely on a perfect Jacob Fowler to shutout the Detroit Red Wings

With 17 goals allowed in their last three games before welcoming the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night, the Montreal Canadiens wanted to play better defence. They did, but the offence went dry.

Not a single goal was scored in the entire game. The coaching staff will be pleased with how they tightened up, but not pleased that it meant sacrificing so much offensively. It’s the first goalless Wings-Canadiens game since 1954.

The Canadiens won 1-0 in a shootout behind six-shot perfection from Jacob Fowler.

Wilde Horses 

The night featured the return of Kaiden Guhle. It was remarkable how ready he was to join the action five games into the season looking like he had all the energy he needed. Guhle was outstanding. He was so good, it was easy to forget just how good a defender he is.

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He joined the rush. He was throwing the bodies. He was blocking shots. He was making hits. He made the right decision. His numbers were excellent too.  His Corsi was 54 per cent for the contest.

The Canadiens are a better defensive team by far with Guhle on the third pair on the left side. He stabilizes that pair completely. He made Xhekaj a better defender. He will make Adam Engstrom a better player as well.

Guhle is also strong on the penalty kill, and they had a good night with him back. He should be used more on the PK than he is. Montreal needed to be strong down a man. The Red Wings had a 5-on-3 for 31 seconds and Montreal killed it off.

Guhle joined the rush late and almost scored the game winner on a pass from Zachary Bolduc. He had it on his stick, but was hooked, drawing a penalty.

With Jakub Dobes ranked 58th out of 62 goalies in the league this season, the Canadiens went with Jacob Fowler for a second straight night. There is a distinct difference between the two. Dobes uses his size and reflexes more, and has to remind himself to remain calm and still.

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Fowler is a technical marvel, but doesn’t carry the same big frame that Dobes does. Fowler relies on his positioning and his balance. Fowler faces a first shot, and is in perfect position usually for the rebound.

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Fowler had an outstanding technical night. He stopped Andrew Copp on a breakaway looking perfect on the deke, tracking the move without any difficulty. It was a big moment with the contest still without a goal with 15 minutes left in the third period.

Alex DeBrincat must have felt like Fowler is Carey Price. Fowler stoned DeBrincat seven times. Fowler had a Goals Saved Above Expected of 3.25. It’s a tremendous number.

Fowler was also stunning in the shootout. He was a perfect six for six, and he made them all look so easy. He wasn’t beaten. There were no posts. He didn’t get lucky. He was in complete command on all six shots.

Zachary Bolduc scored in the sixth round as the Canadiens finally won on home ice.

Wilde Goats 

The Canadiens have a 50-goal scorer in Cole Caufield. They have a 100-point man in Nick Suzuki. They have one of the most creative defenceman to ever play the game in Lane Hutson. It all begs the question why are the Canadiens so horrific on the power play.

In the first period, already with great momentum, the Canadiens had a chance to consolidate with their first power play of the night. However, they didn’t get a shot for two minutes with the extra-man. After the early failure, the Canadiens power play was one for 14 on the year. They finished the night one for 17.

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The league leaders are the Utah Mammoth with a power play of 40 per cent. The Canadiens are at six percent. It’s difficult to know why they are struggling so badly, but zero shots is a good place to start for any power play.

Take how the Predators won on Thursday night. It didn’t look like an amazing shot from the point from Roman Josi, but Ryan O’ Reilly was there for the deflection with two minutes remaining, and that was the contest. It wasn’t pretty, but it was a shot, and it all starts right there.

There is more, though. Another power play issue is how Juraj Slafkovsky is placed. He is often near the blue line where he faces pressure and turns the puck over. It’s hard to move Slafkovsky’s body, but it isn’t hard to dispossess him. Get the big boy in front of the net.

Wilde Cards

The Canadiens traded Jayden Struble for a second round draft choice to the Nashville Predators on Friday night. It’s a smart trade for both teams. For the Predators, they used their third pair for only four minutes on Thursday against the Canadiens. They desperately needed a steady defender and Struble fits the third pair role.

For the Canadiens, they believe at 25 years of age, they have seen the ceiling of Struble’s abilities. General Manager Kent Hughes has no fear that Struble is suddenly going to turn into a top-four defender, so he’s happy to get a strong return in hopes of finding a second round gem.

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If Hughes doesn’t land that second round pick with a viable NHL player, it isn’t a crucial error, because he has the depth at defence to fill Struble’s spot with an equally talented defender.

For now, Adam Engstrom will fill Struble’s role as a seventh defender with Guhle’s return from injury. In the future, it’s David Reinbacher who will step in to make Struble’s likelihood of getting ice time even less than now.

Add to the mix, a wild card out of training camp. Luke Middlestadt is playing outstanding hockey in Laval. The organization is high on him. Middlestadt may have an NHL career in front of him. It’s hard to know with defenders because it’s all about processing decisions quickly, more than it is about raw skill as is the case for forwards.

Middlestadt is handling the increased speed of the pro game in terms of decision-making very easily. Bryce Pickford will also be in the NHL mix when he returns from injury and gets his legs under him at the professional level.

Even after the Struble deal, the Canadiens are eight on the NHL-ready depth chart.

Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sportswriter, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.