Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel was asked about Jacob Fowler on Tuesday night and delivered his verdict on the Montreal Canadiens goaltender in the plainest terms: “I don’t want to see him again.” Arniel was not complaining. He was describing what Fowler had done to his team before Winnipeg escaped the Bell Centre with a 5-4 overtime win, and the rest of his answer was admiration.
“That young Fowler kid, wow,” Arniel said. “That’s twice now I’ve seen him. I don’t want to see him anymore. Wow, he’s something. The stops he was making, especially in that second period.
“But really, that was the message after the first and after the second: don’t stop.”
That closing line was about Arniel’s own dressing room, with the Jets trailing by multiple goals through two periods, and it came after the Jets had won for the first time in 10 games.
The rest of the answer was about Jacob Fowler, and the two viewings fit the schedule. Winnipeg faced him at the Heritage Classic on Oct. 25 at Princess Auto Stadium, where he made 33 saves in a 2-1 Montreal win, then again on Tuesday, where he stopped 42 shots before the Jets’ late rally beat him.
A clip of the answer shared on X by the account HabsInHighHeels was transcribed with the phrasing “I don’t want to see him again.” The Canadian Press report on the game quoted Arniel saying “anymore.”
Jacob Fowler has been named the NHL’s top rookie for October
Jacob Fowler began the season with the Laval Rocket and was recalled on Oct. 7 after Samuel Montembeault was injured in practice. The American was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for October on Sunday after going 7-1-0 with a 1.84 goals-against average, a .932 save percentage and two shutouts in eight starts, and he became the youngest goaltender in NHL history to start and win an outdoor game at the Heritage Classic.
Tuesday’s game was built on volume. Fowler made 19 saves in the second period alone, including stops on Mark Scheifele, and reached back to rob Cole Perfetti on the doorstep with 4:34 left in regulation. Montreal led 4-0 after Cole Caufield scored his second of the night 46 seconds into the third period, but Winnipeg scored four times in a little over two minutes, two of them from Kyle Connor with the extra attacker, to tie it before Dylan Samberg won it at 3:30 of overtime.
The comment reflects the difficulty of Arniel’s night, not any settled answer in Montreal’s net. The Canadiens have also used opening-night starter Jakub Dobes this season, and Jacob Fowler’s evening ended in a loss, Montreal’s first in six games.
Winnipeg (5-8-3) hosts the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday. The Canadiens (9-3-3) host the Utah Mammoth the same night.
Edited by Sonali Verma
