The Montreal Canadiens' Biggest Breakthrough?

Is Jacob Fowler becoming the story of the Montreal Canadiens' season? It's certainly beginning to look that way. The 21-year-old goaltender stopped 30 shots Thursday as Montreal defeated the Boston Bruins 5-2, earning his ninth win of the season.

Two late goals by Casey Mittelstadt spoiled Fowler's shutout bid, but the outcome was never really in doubt. Montreal built a 4-0 lead before the 10-minute mark of the second period, and Fowler did what good goaltenders do: he gave his team a chance to take care of business.

His recent numbers are getting difficult to overlook. Fowler hasn't suffered a regulation loss since his season debut on October 8, going 9-0-2 over his last 11 starts with a 2.05 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage. That's quite a stretch for a 21-year-old.

Fowler Is Giving Montreal Something Valuable.

There's a difference between having a young goaltender who looks promising and having one who is already helping a team win consistently. Fowler appears to be moving into that second category.

For Montreal, that's potentially a significant development. Young teams can have plenty of offensive talent, energy, and enthusiasm, but dependable goaltending can turn an interesting team into a serious postseason threat. Fowler is beginning to provide that dependability. His presence gives the Canadiens another reason to believe they can compete with established teams, even when the pressure increases.

Could Fowler Be Montreal's Most Important Development?

The Canadiens have been building toward something, and Fowler's emergence could be one of the most important developments in that process. Playoff hockey places enormous demands on goaltenders. A team can have good scoring depth and capable defencemen, but when games tighten up, somebody has to make the saves that keep a season moving forward.

Fowler is giving Montreal reason to believe it may have found that somebody. Of course, there's a difference between an impressive stretch of regular-season hockey and handling postseason pressure. We shouldn't get too far ahead of ourselves.

Canadiens Fans Have Reason for Hope.

Still, Canadiens fans have every reason to be encouraged. Fowler isn't simply putting together a nice run of wins. He's changing the conversation about what this team might accomplish.

And if he keeps playing this way, Montreal's postseason ambitions may look considerably more realistic.