Canadiens fall to Jets in Ducharme's debut as coach

WINNIPEG --The Montreal Canadiens lost to the Winnipeg Jets 6-3 in Dominique Ducharme's debut as coach at Bell MTS Place on Thursday.

Ducharme replaced Claude Julien, who was fired by Montreal on Wednesday.
The Canadiens led 2-0 after the first period and 3-1 midway through the second before the Jets rallied to send the Canadiens (9-6-4) to their fourth straight loss (0-2-2).
"I think I saw the guys playing better in the first half of the game, and then we cracked," Ducharme said. "So we've got to be playing the same way that we started."
Kyle Connor scored twice, and Mark Scheifele scored in a sixth straight game for the Jets (12-6-1), who have won three straight. Connor Hellebuyck made 18 saves.
"If we have the puck it's tough for them to score, and I think that's kind of our mentality," Connor said. "I think our offensive-zone game is pretty elite in this division and through the NHL. We're a pretty good, talented team up front and I think it's tough to generate chances if we're in your zone for 20-30 seconds."
Joel Armia scored two goals, and Tomas Tatar scored for the Canadiens. Carey Price made 25 saves and lost for the fifth time in his past six starts.

Armia scored twice in a span of 3:44 in the first period, making it 1-0 at 13:45 and 2-0 at 17:29.
"I think perseverance is a key factor in winning hockey games," Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois said. "I think the more you go through it throughout the season, the more prepared you are for the playoffs. If you don't get those couple good bounces in the first period, you're not fazed by it … You want to go back to the second period and go back to your game. We showed that tonight."
Connor made it 2-1 on the power play at 5:37 of the second. Tatar gave Montreal a 3-1 lead on the power play at 7:33.

Connor scored again to make it 3-2 at 11:50 before Blake Wheeler tied it 3-3 at 14:31.
"You look at that second period, they started stressing us out," Canadiens forward Jonathan Drouin said. "We were giving them too much space in the neutral zone for them to skate and make plays and they kind of took us apart. They have skilled players. You look at that top six, it's probably one of the best top sixes in the League."
Nate Thompson gave Winnipeg a 4-3 lead at 6:37 of the third period. It was his first goal in his seventh game with the Jets, who signed the 36-year-old forward as a free agent Oct. 10. He played for the Canadiens from 2018-20.
"That's the biggest reaction on the bench, is when a guy like [Thompson] scores and it's his old team and it ends up being the game-winner and you've clawed your way back," Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "When you block shots for a living and when your lot in life is that you've got to do the hard and heavy things, it's good not just to score, but to score the big goal."
Dubois scored at 12:37 to make it 5-3, and Scheifele scored into an empty net at 18:22 for the 6-3 final.
NOTES: Scheifele has 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) on an NHL career-high 11-game point streak. … Canadiens forward Josh Anderson left after playing 4:24 in the first period. Ducharme did not have a postgame update. … Armia had his second two-goal game of the season. His first was Jan. 21 against the Vancouver Canucks when he had two goals and two assists in a 7-3 win. … Wheeler had two assists for five in his past two games.