The Montreal Canadiens (43-21-10) will face the New York Rangers (31-35-9) on Thursday night, with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

This will be the third and last time these teams will face each other, with Rangers having won both the previous matches. They were relatively close games, with New York emerging with wins 4–3 in October and 5–4 in December. A lot has changed since then. The Canadiens are close to qualifying for the playoffs, while the Rangers were the second team to be officially eliminated from playoff contention.

As far as Thursday’s meeting is concerned, we can expect another high-scoring affair from the Habs. With 3.31 goals per game (all situations), the Canadiens are third in the NHL in G/PG, while the Rangers are a bottom-12 team in goals allowed (3.09). That being said, the Canadiens are also allowing roughly the same amount of goals per game, a good reminder that the team needs to strengthen its defensive game before the playoffs begin.

Goals are fun, and comebacks are entertaining, but a seven-game series is an entirely different animal. Defensive opponents are quickly taken advantage of.

Lineup Changes

Rookie netminder Jacob Fowler will face the Rangers looking for their third straight win. It should also be noted that Fowler and Jacob Dobbs both now have save percentages above .900, a complete reversal in goaltending fortunes in Montreal. The first-year goaltenders deserve a lot of credit, but the team’s new goaltending guru Marco Marciano also deserves credit.

Since Marciano’s arrival, the numbers have continued to improve, to the point where it would be fair to suggest that hiring him in Montreal could have saved the season.

Three injured players took the ice Thursday morning, but Kirby Dach, Alexandre Carrier and Alexandre Texier are not expected to be in uniform as the Canadiens take on the Rangers.

Alexandre Carriere, Alexandre Texier and Kirby Dach are on the ice in full equipment this morning in Brossard.@DLCoulisses #GoHabsGo #Roof #carrier #texier pic.twitter.com/TVc0j0lup2

– Patrick Guillet (@PatGuillet) 2 April 2026

Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup

Cole Coffield – Nick Suzuki – Juraj Slafkowski

Alex Newhook – Oliver Kapanen – Ivan Demidov

Zach Bolduc – Jake Evans – Josh Anderson

Joe Veleno – Philip Danault – Brendan Gallagher

Mike Matheson – Noah Dobson

Jaden Struble- Lane Hutson

Caden Guhle – Arbor Zekaj

jacob fowler

New York Rangers projected lineup

Gabe Perreault – Mika Zibanejad – Alexis Lafreniere

Ty Carthaye – JT Miller – Connor Sherry

Will Quayle – Vincent Trocheck – Adam Sikora

Johnny Brodzinski – Noah Laba – Jaroslav Chmeler

Vladislav Gavrikov – Adam Fox

Drew Fortescue – Braden Schneider

Matthew Robertson – Will Borgen

Igor Shesterkin

How to watch Hubs Vs. rangers

Montreal Canadiens vs. New York Rangers on Thursday, April 2, 2026 will be broadcast on RDS and TSN2. A quick recap with highlights will be available on SportsNote once the final whistle blows.

Mark has been covering the Habs for over a decade. He previously worked for the Journal Metro, The Athletic, The… More about Mark Dumont

The Montreal Canadiens are heading into the playoffs with two rookie netminders, a rare occurrence in the NHL.

And although Jacob Dobbs and Jacob Fowler both lack NHL experience compared to most goaltending combinations, they have shown very encouraging potential throughout the season, and even more so since the Canadiens hired Marco Marciano as their goaltending coach on January 28.

Since then, both players have improved their 5v5 save percentages, and by quite a large margin too.

Jacob Dobbs goaltending statistics

As you can see in the table below, Dobbs’ save percentage has increased significantly, but it is not due to any major defensive changes by the Habs. The Canadiens are forcing Dobbs to make more saves than ever before in both regular (SV/60) and high-quality saves (HD SV/60).

And yet, Dobbs has also significantly improved his high-danger saves (HDSV%) percentage, which is enough evidence to suggest that he is providing the Canadiens with better results than before while dealing with more shots on a nightly basis.

We have to take into account the sample size, as Dobbs appeared in 24 games before Marciano’s arrival, and only 13 games since, but I’d argue that’s more than enough to present that there’s a strong correlation between Marciano’s appointment and Dobbs’ uptick in results.

Jacob Fowler Goaltending Statistics

As for the other first-year goaltender, he has significantly improved his save percentage while facing slightly more shots per game.

Fowler’s high-danger save percentage has dropped slightly, although it should be noted that he is facing a 33% increase in high-quality scoring opportunities.

Montreal Canadiens Brass Tacks

It’s very difficult to discern which improvements are simply due to the general ups and downs of a hockey season, and which are directly related to Marciano’s work, but the numbers suggest that both of Montreal’s first-year goaltenders have benefited from his presence, at least in the short term.

For example, Dobbs has also improved his save percentage on the penalty kill, which started at .812 before Marciano’s arrival, and has since increased to .868.

The real test will be when the Canadiens start making a push in the playoffs, but as things stand, the team can be confident they made the right decision based on all the available data.

All Montreal Canadiens goaltender stats are 5v5, via Natural Stat Trick, unless otherwise noted.

Mark has been covering the Habs for over a decade. He previously worked for the Journal Metro, The Athletic, The… More about Mark Dumont

With only two players left to discuss, we head to our annual Montreal Canadiens Top 20 Prospect Rankings, as chosen by Habs fans.

Successor Jacob Fowler took the No. 2 spot, a testament to his incredibly encouraging growth.

Note: To qualify for the project, potential candidates must be 23 years of age or younger and currently playing outside the NHL. In other words, even though Canadian players like Len Hutson, Juraj Slafkowski and Ivan Demidov are young enough to qualify by age, they have already established themselves as NHL players and are no longer considered prospects.

Previously published Montreal Canadiens prospect profile

Canadian prospects who just missed the cut

Canadiens prospects ranked 20-16

Canadiens prospects ranked 15-11

No. 10 – Towering Hayden Poupanekis

No. 9 – Truculent Florian Zekaj

No. 8 – Highly skilled LJ Mooney

No. 7 – Extraordinaire Bryce Pickford

No. 6 – Cerebral Owen Beck

No. 5 – Highly Mobile Adam Engstrom

Number 4 – Enigmatic David Rickenbacker

No. 3 – Brilliant Alexander Zarovsky

jacob fowler

2. Goaltender, Catch Left, 21, Laval Rocket (AHL), 6’2″, 214 lbs. Selected 69th overall in 2023.

From the moment Jacob Fowler took over as Boston College’s starting netminder, it was crystal clear that he had the potential to one day become a starting goaltender in the NHL.

Of course, there were some signs pointing to his excellence before the Canadiens selected him in the third round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. Fowler was a key figure in the USHL, leading the Youngstown Phantoms to a Clark Cup championship, serving as the team’s Most Valuable Player due to his impressive .952 save percentage.

And yet, there was no guarantee that his play would translate to the NCAAs, as it represented a significant increase in the quality of competition.

Fowler didn’t just embrace college hockey, he quickly established himself as one of the best goaltenders in the country, posting a 25-7-2 record in his second year with the Eagles, including an impressive .940 save percentage.

She was the driving force behind the decision to convince him to sign an entry-level contract, ending his NCAA career after just two years in the league. It should be noted that Fowler was not the first Canadiens netminder to spend just two years in the NCAA. Cayden Primeau and Jacob Dobbs both made their jump to the professional ranks after playing two seasons in college hockey, a reminder that rushing goaltenders carries a certain amount of risk.

That being said, now that we have had the chance to see Fowler play in a professional league, it is safe to say that he has excelled despite his lack of experience, which means he has excelled in every league from the USHL to the NHL.

His 10-game audition with the Canadiens was not perfect, and yet, he provided the team’s best chance to win games with a .902 save percentage. This may not seem like an outstanding result, but when we consider that both Samuel Montembeault (.874) and Jacob Dobbs (.892) have struggled at times due to the increased number of high-danger chances allowed by the Habs each night, not to mention the fact that teams around the league have been scoring more goals in recent years than in previous eras, it turns out that Fowler has found himself in a tough situation. Performed commendably.

To put a fine point on his impressive results, we can also turn to the AHL, where Fowler has emerged as one of the best goaltenders in the league. He has a .915 save percentage, good for sixth overall in the league. This earned the rookie netminder a well-deserved All-Star nod, and added yet another accomplishment to his crowded cap.

Strength

Fowler is extremely boring, which is the biggest compliment one can give a young netminder. He wastes very little energy, using elite anticipation, vision and tracking to ensure he is ready before most shots.

That doesn’t mean he’s immune to being out of position sometimes, but for the most part, Fowler has shown that he can make life very difficult for opposing teams by always being ready to make a save rather than reacting to the situation at the last moment.

This eliminates the most vulnerable position for a goaltender: having to adjust his position while reacting to a shot.

Fowler is making a fluke save on Crosby in crunch time. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/oME2vlsrHY

– Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) 12 December 2025

His rebound control is well above average, which became very evident during his short stint in the NHL. Montembeault and Dobbs can both struggle when it comes to maintaining possession of the puck, while Fowler has shown a tendency to squander second-chance opportunities that will plague the Canadiens in 2025-26.

When rebounds were inevitable, Fowler did a great job of redirecting the puck into low-threat scoring areas, once again reducing scoring opportunities for opposing players.

He played every game with the same confidence and mental preparation you’d expect from a 10-year veteran, a good reminder that he has the right type of mentality to thrive in a hockey-mad market like Montreal.

weaknesses

I have closely followed Fowler’s progress since his NCAA debut, and although I believe he is one of the best goaltending prospects I have had the chance to monitor, he does have one Achilles heel.

When the puck goes down, and then quickly gets back into the slot, Fowler’s tracking, which is usually elite, suddenly becomes mediocre. The result is that he sits a little too far back in his net, giving shooters a wide open net to work with.

His lateral change can be awkward at times, but it is an aspect of his game that has improved by leaps and bounds over the past few seasons.

He’s likely to have stretches in which he looks a little overwhelmed, at least when compared to his normal NCAA standard. I would argue that this is a result of playing behind an elite Boston College team for two years, a situation that led to many wins, but a distinct lack in shot volume.

It’s also important to note that I’m looking for nits to bite at the moment.

All of his game’s issues essentially require a simple solution: more experience.

In that sense, Fowler’s biggest weakness is that he is still a rookie netminder, which is not necessarily a weakness, but a realistic assessment of his encouraging development.

What to expect from Fowler moving forward?

All things considered, Fowler clearly has what it takes to become Montreal’s starter after accumulating enough experience, but we should be wary of rushing him into the NHL, especially as the Canadiens head into the final stages of the season.

Yes, Fowler played well during his short stint with the Habs, but there’s something to be said about allowing him to develop in a slightly less pressured situation.

In other words, the AHL is the perfect league for Fowler in 2025-26.

That may not be the case next season, especially with the Habs struggling with goaltending issues, but despite his excellent numbers, the Canadiens can’t risk their long-term potential to solve a short-term issue.

He’s a great goaltending prospect, arguably the best the team has had in decades, and his time will come soon.

However, for now, he is still learning on the job.

Montreal Canadiens player statistics via Elite Prospects.

Mark has been covering the Habs for over a decade. He previously worked for the Journal Metro, The Athletic, The… More about Mark Dumont