Fowler Stops All 46 for a Canadiens Rookie Record, Hellebuyck Wins His Devils Debut
Plus: Varlamov's first NHL win since 2024, Kochetkov ties a Hurricanes record at 8-0, Ellis blanks San Jose, Tabashniuk's second WHL shutout in six days, and to close, Colorado retires Patrick Roy's No. 33, 23 years ago today
In this edition 8 stories
NHL
Goalies in this edition 16 goalies
Every goalie named in this edition, from the NHL to junior and college.
NHL: Jacob Fowler (Montreal Canadiens), Connor Hellebuyck (New Jersey Devils), Semyon Varlamov (New York Islanders), Pyotr Kochetkov (Carolina Hurricanes), Colten Ellis (Buffalo Sabres), Patrick Roy (Colorado Avalanche), Terry Sawchuk (Detroit Red Wings), Glenn Hall (Chicago Black Hawks), Bernie Parent (Philadelphia Flyers), Byron Dafoe (Los Angeles Kings), Chris Osgood (Detroit Red Wings), Mike Richter (New York Rangers), Ryan Miller (Vancouver Canucks), Tuukka Rask (Boston Bruins)
Junior: Taylor Tabashniuk (Regina Pats)
International: Viktor Golovlev (Belye Medvedi)
NHLFowler stops all 46 in St. Louis, a Canadiens record for a rookie in a shutout
The Blues outshot Montreal 24-3 in the third period on Tuesday, and Jacob Fowler turned every one of those shots away, finishing with a career-high 46 saves in a 2-0 win. Zachary Bolduc and Florian Xhekaj, with his first NHL goal, did the scoring. No Canadiens rookie has made more saves in a shutout, the team says (Canadiens.com). Since saves were first counted in 1955-56, only two Montreal goalies have made more in a shutout: Jacques Plante, with 52 against Chicago in November 1955, and Sam Montembeault, with 48 against Toronto two years ago (NHL.com).
Blues coach Jim Montgomery gave him the credit: “I didn’t think we shot it in him. I thought he made the saves.” Fowler, 21, preferred to talk about the defence in front of him: “I think we put an emphasis on the ‘D’ of boxing out tonight,” he said, adding that busy nights suit him. “I think if you ask a lot of guys, they play their best hockey when you don’t have time to think, you just react.” Xhekaj called him “so calm in the net” (NHL.com).
It was his sixth straight win and his second shutout of the season. By InGoal’s count from the NHL’s game logs, he has stopped 165 of 173 shots in the six wins (.954), including shutouts of 30 saves against Detroit and 46 in St. Louis, and he is 6-1 with a .942 save percentage on the season. Sportsnet Stats added that only Rogie Vachon (1967) and Carey Price (2008) had won six in a row for Montreal at 21 or younger (below). His Heritage Classic win led our Oct. 26 edition, and he was one of the NHL’s 3 Stars of the week on Monday.
On InGoal: InGoal Radio Episode 339 with Jacob Fowler and Jacob Fowler and Apophenia.
NHLHellebuyck stops 17 of 18 as the Devils win his first game for them
Connor Hellebuyck was asked what went through his head during the anthem in Dallas on Tuesday. “Finally,” he said. His first game for New Jersey, and his first of the season after a suspension that began Sept. 16, ended in a 5-1 Devils win. He made 17 saves on 18 shots, and the only goal against him was a Justin Hryckowian redirection late in the second period with New Jersey already up 3-0. Dallas’s 18 shots tied the fewest the Devils have allowed this season.
“If you asked me, I was ready two months ago,” Hellebuyck said, and he admitted to “a couple minor mistakes that you guys wouldn’t even know if I told you.” Coach Sheldon Keefe’s verdict: “I thought he was exceptional.” Defenceman Johnathan Kovacevic called him “so solid back there, so sound” (NHL.com). The trade from Winnipeg ran in our Oct. 24 edition, and his first Devils practice in yesterday’s. New Jersey plays in Colorado on Wednesday and in Vegas on Friday.
On InGoal: 30 fewer goals? What Clear Sight Analytics says about Hellebuyck’s fit in New Jersey and Connor Hellebuyck’s Pro Reads.
NHLVarlamov, 38, wins for the first time since November 2024
Semyon Varlamov had gone almost two years without an NHL win, with partial replacements in both knees in between. On Tuesday in Nashville he got one. He made 20 saves, kept Nashville off the board on its last five shots before overtime, and then denied Ryan O’Reilly and Filip Forsberg in the shootout as the Islanders won 4-3. It was his first win since Nov. 14, 2024, after an 0-1-2 start to his return, and his 77th for the Islanders, tying Roland Melanson for eighth in team history.
“A year ago, to be honest with you, I didn’t see this coming,” Varlamov said. “It was such a grind the last two years to get to this point.” He thanked everyone who worked on his surgery and rehab: “I’m very, very proud of everybody” (NHL.com). His first start back at UBS Arena was in our Oct. 23 edition.
On InGoal: InGoal Radio Episode 62 with Semyon Varlamov and Oleg Romashko.
NHLKochetkov is 8-0 and has Andersen's Hurricanes record
Boston managed only 15 shots in Raleigh on Tuesday, and Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 14 of them as Carolina won 2-1 on Sebastian Aho’s late goal. That makes eight starts and eight wins to open his season, which ties Frederik Andersen for the longest season-opening winning streak by a Hurricanes goalie. Across the NHL, only Jack Campbell (11), Carey Price (10), and Felix Potvin (9) have opened a season with longer runs. Jaccob Slavin pointed to the stops he made on a late penalty kill: “you need your goalie sometimes to be your best penalty killer.” Kochetkov said a quiet night is normal in Carolina: “We always have this type of game, where I don’t have lots of (work)” (Hurricanes.com). His seventh win, a shutout, was in our Oct. 25 edition.
NHLAround the league
- Colten Ellis came back from 15 days without a game and shut out San Jose, 23 saves in a 2-0 Buffalo win that ended a three-game skid. The Sharks got four shots from Macklin Celebrini and a mid-game scramble at the top of the crease, and Ellis kept all of it out. “Put it in the excellent category,” coach Lindy Ruff said, calling it the best goaltending Buffalo has had from him this season. Ellis: “When you’re not thinking about every single thing you’re doing, you’ve got to just trust your instincts” (Sabres.com). It is the second shutout of his NHL career. The 26-year-old from Whycocomagh, Nova Scotia, was a third-round pick of the St. Louis Blues in 2019 and played in the ECHL and for Springfield in the AHL before reaching Buffalo (NHL.com).
Junior19-year-old Taylor Tabashniuk's second WHL shutout in six days
Six days after his first WHL shutout, Regina Pats goalie Taylor Tabashniuk has another. He stopped all 34 Everett shots in a 3-0 home win on Tuesday, 13 of them in the first period, and the Pats are still unbeaten at home at 6-0 (Regina Pats). The 19-year-old was the WHL’s goaltender of the week in yesterday’s edition.
HistoryColorado retires Patrick Roy's No. 33, 23 years ago today
On this day in 2003, five months after he retired, Patrick Roy watched his No. 33 go up to the Denver rafters beside Ray Bourque’s No. 77 before the Avalanche played Calgary. The sold-out crowd stood and cheered him for about four minutes, players on both benches tapped their sticks, and Bourque watched from a suite. Roy remembered his first trip to a rink with his parents and brothers at eight: “To stand here in front you tonight 30 years later is priceless.” And to anyone wondering about a return, he joked that “the only comeback I’m going to make is to get to my playing weight” (The Associated Press, via ESPN).
Also on Oct. 28
- 1962: Hall of Famer Terry Sawchuk earned his 90th regular-season shutout, for Detroit against Toronto, the second goalie to get there by the NHL’s current totals.
- 1965: Glenn Hall won his 300th regular-season game, for Chicago in Detroit, the fifth goalie to do it by the NHL’s current totals.
- 1973: Bernie Parent won his 100th regular-season game, for Philadelphia against the California Golden Seals. Three years later to the day, in 1976, he earned his 40th shutout, 21 saves against Pittsburgh.
- 1995: Byron Dafoe made 56 saves for Los Angeles in a 2-2 tie in Toronto.
- 2000: Chris Osgood won his 200th regular-season game, for Detroit against Columbus.
- 2002: Mike Richter won his 300th regular-season game, all of them for the Rangers, against Phoenix.
- 2014: Ryan Miller won his 300th regular-season game, for Vancouver against Carolina.
- 2017: Tuukka Rask played his 400th regular-season game, for Boston against Los Angeles.
- 2021: Viktor Golovlev of Belye Medvedi was credited with a goal in Russia’s junior MHL, the league’s second by a goalie, when a puck he gloved down carried the length of the ice into an empty net.
The NHL game details in this list come from the NHL’s game records at NHL Records.
On InGoal: InGoal Radio Episode 29: Mr. Goalie Glenn Hall, InGoal Radio with Bernie Parent, InGoal Radio Episode 40 with Chris Osgood, and Ryan Miller’s Pro Reads.
New on InGoalAnthon Hansson, NHL goalies as teachers, and the Warrior Answer stick
InGoal Radio Episode 374 features Anthon Hansson, who stopped playing at 19, studied sports science, and is now in his seventh season as Brynäs IF’s goalie coach in the SHL, with time on Team Sweden’s staff at the World Championships, 4 Nations Face-Off, and Olympics. Listen: Anthon Hansson: From Retiring at 19 to Team Sweden Goalie Coach (Ep. 374).
In the episode’s parent segment, Hutch suggests parents learn the position alongside their young goalie and use NHL goalies to start the conversation: What NHL Goalies Can Teach Your Young Goalie (Parents, Ep. 374).
And in the gear segment, Kevin Woodley and Cam from The Hockey Shop look at the 550-gram Warrior Answer, the lightest pro stick the shop carries: Warrior Answer Goalie Stick Review.
Have goalie news, a big save, a signing, or a coaching hire? Send it to news@ingoalmag.com.