Canadiens rookie Jacob Fowler blanks Penguins for first shutout

Field Level Media|published: Sat 20th December, 22:22 2025

NHL: Pittsburgh Penguins at Montreal Canadiens

Dec 20, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens goalie Jacob Fowler (32) makes a pad save during the third period of the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

Jacob Fowler made 31 saves for his first career shutout in the host Montreal Canadiens' 4-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.

The 21-year-old Fowler, playing his fourth game since being recalled from the AHL's Laval Rocket, denied Kevin Hayes on a breakaway 5:16 into the game and thwarted Connor Dewar's point-blank tip attempt with a right-pad save 54 seconds into the middle period.

His first career win came against the Penguins on Dec. 11.

Josh Anderson scored twice and Juraj Slafkovsky and Owen Beck added goals for the Canadiens, who are 4-1-1 in their last six.

Stuart Skinner stopped 17 of 20 shots for Pittsburgh, which lost its eighth in a row (0-4-4) and were shut out 4-0 for the second consecutive game.

Anthony Mantha hit two goal posts for the Penguins.

It was the first of a back-to-back, home-and-home series between the teams.

Montreal took a 2-0 lead in the last three-and-a-half minutes of the first period.

Slafkovsky's power-play goal opened the scoring with 3:19 left in the opening stanza. He whipped a wrist shot from the slot past Skinner.

Beck's first career goal made it 2-0 with 1:11 left in the first. He picked up the puck at the Canadiens' blue line after a giveaway by Pittsburgh's Rickard Rakell, broke in off left wing and scored from the left circle.

Anderson's short-handed goal made it 3-0 with 7:46 remaining in the second period. He converted a breakaway 56 seconds after Nick Suzuki went off for delay of game because he cleared the puck over the glass in his own zone.

Anderson added an empty-net goal with 2:58 left.

Montreal's Jake Evans left the game in the first period with a lower-body injury.

Phillip Danault was not in the lineup for the Canadiens after being acquired from the Los Angeles Kings on Friday night in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2026 draft. Danault, 32, played for Montreal from 2015-21 and racked up 54 goals and 140 assists in 360 regular-season games.

--Field Level Media

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