Tonight this Sunday, December 28th, the Montreal Canadiens are back in action.
Martin St. Louis' team will visit the Lightning in Tampa Bay at 5 p.m.
Yesterday we found out Jacob Fowler will be tasked with stopping the Lightning.the team with the same number of points as the Habs in the standings.
This will also be another audition for Fowler (although he has performed very well so far) with Samuel Montembeault returning to the big club and the Habs down to three goalies.
We all know that a family of three is far from ideal, especially when it includes two young goalies (Fowler and Jakub Dobes).
The two “easiest” options would be to send Dobs or Fowler back to Laval since they wouldn't have to go through waivers. There is also the possibility of exchanging Montembeault.
On 98.5 FM SportsMartin McGuire believes there will be rapid change at this level. In his opinion, the Habs will return to the goaltending duo in early 2026.
Canadiens meet Lightning | Goalkeeper: “I think we will return to the duo at the beginning of 2026” https://t.co/xVLnJ5joGS
– 98.5 Sports (@985Sports) December 28, 2025
This will be a very important game for Fowler to prove once again that he belongs in the NHL.
However, this will be (another) special game for the young Canadiens goalie as the Lightning were his childhood team.
Jacob Fowler will be the starting goalie tonight against the Lightning.
He is originally from Florida. It will be (another) special game for him. pic.twitter.com/dJS91scmjF
– Anthony Martineau (@Antho_Martineau) December 28, 2025
Remember, the game against the Bruins in Boston last Tuesday was also very special for Fowler, as he spent his entire NCAA career at Boston College.
But this game in Tampa Bay will be different for the young American goalie.
It's always special, especially for a newbie, to play such an important game for yourself, especially when your family can come and see you in large numbers.
If the stress doesn't affect him too much (which doesn't seem to be the case when you see his calm and maturity in front of the net), he can certainly have a strong outing.
Obviously, he'll need help from his teammates (especially the defenders), but Fowler could use that little help. promote growth in his favor.
It's important to remember that the Lightning are not an easy team to beat. There is a lot of talent and experience on the roster.
Moreover, the Florida club will be able to count on the services of Brandon Hagel, who will return to action tonight.
News: Brandon Hagel has been activated from injured reserve for tonight's game against Montreal at 5:00 pm, while Steven Santini is no longer on the active roster, so Ryan McDonagh could also return to the lineup #GoBolts #TBLightning
– Lightning Insider (@Erik_Erlendsson) December 28, 2025
On the other side, as my colleague Mathis Therrien mentionedTampa Bay is broken and tired (John Cooper's troupe played last night), and Andrei Vasilevsky will not be in front of the goal.
This is another reason for the Habs to take advantage of the holiday break. They will need to start the game strong and maintain the momentum until the very end.
Let's see if young Fowler can turn things around (again), this time against his boyhood team.
Overtime
– Maximum fines for Anton Lundell and Scott Sabourin after a heated match between the two Florida clubs.
Scott Sabourin was fined $2,018.23 for injuring Florida Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola. Anton Lundell was fined $5,000 for aggressive behavior against Jake Guentzel. Both fines are the MAXIMUM ALLOWED UNDER CBA! @TBLightning @FlaPanthers #BattleOfFLA
– Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) December 28, 2025
– Still nice to see.
This angle of Troy Stecher pumping up the crowd is amazing.
What a beauty
: @MrStormyyG #LeavesForever pic.twitter.com/kD6X9ZcKaL
– Leafslatest (@Leafslatest) December 28, 2025
– Read on.
The turnaround is simply impressive. https://t.co/hofvtcRQUW
– Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) December 28, 2025
