Dominique Ducharme to return to Montreal’s bench for Game 3

The Montreal Canadiens will have their head coach back behind the bench for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.

According to Eric Engles of Sportsnet, Dominique Ducharme is expected to rejoin the Habs on Friday. He’s been away from the team since Game 3 of the semi-final against the Vegas Golden Knights after testing positive for COVID-19.

With Ducharme out, Montreal won Game 3 in overtime, dropped Game 4, and then won the series after taking Game 5 and Game 6. There was some speculation that bringing Ducharme back behind the bench might disrupt the momentum that Montreal had built, but that won’t be a concern now that the team is down 2-0 to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Habs are facing a must-win situation on Friday night. Only once has a team come back to win a Stanley Cup Final after going down 3-0 — the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs.