PITTSBURGH — It was a night Jacob Fowler met his destiny, taking his first steps down the path paved by the great Montreal Canadiens goaltenders of the past.

The 21-year-old debuted with a win in Pittsburgh, just like Ken Dryden did in 1971, Patrick Roy did in 1985 and Carey Price did in 2007. Just like all of them, Fowler did it projecting the confidence of a goaltender who knew he belonged exactly where he was. Just like all of them, he arrived there sooner than anticipated. And just like all of them, he gave the Canadiens exactly what they needed when they needed it most.

“Fowler was so calm,” said Juraj Slafkovsky, who set up two of Montreal’s goals in the 4-2 win that saw his goaltender tested 38 times.

The Canadiens entered Thursday coming off a loss in which both of their other g

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