Jets spoil Dominique Ducharme’s debut as Montreal’s coach
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Kyle Connor scored twice and the Winnipeg Jets spoiled Dominique Ducharme’s debut as Montreal’s coach, beating the Canadiens 6-3 on Thursday night to open a two-game series.
Nate Thompson scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, Blake Wheeler had a goal and two assists, and Pierre-Luc Dubois and Mark Scheifele each had a goal and an assist. Connor Hellebuyck made 18 saves.
The Jets have won three in a row to improve to 12-6-1.
Joel Armia scored twice for the Canadiens, and Tomas Tatar added a goal.
Montreal fired coach Claude Julien and associate coach Kirk Muller on Wednesday, promoting Ducharme to interim head coach. The Canadiens have lost four straight to fall to 9-6-4.
The teams will meet again Saturday night.