2021 Stanley Cup Final: 3 compelling storylines to watch in Game 3

2. Will Ducharme’s return makes a difference?

While tonight will be a special one for the Canadiens back on home ice, it will also be a meaningful one for Montreal Interim Head Coach Dominique Ducharme who has been away from the team for the last two weeks after testing positive for COVID-19 on June 18.

He missed six games overall, including the first two of the Stanley Cup Final, so there is no doubt that Ducharme will be glad to be back where he belongs tonight with Assistant Coach Luke Richardson having steadied the ship in his absence.

Will Ducharme’s return be the difference for the Habs, though?

Sure, the bench boss would have had contact with his players via Zoom and the phone in-between games, but he will now be able to dictate his matchups as he pleases and, with the Canadiens having the last change for the next two games, that will be especially crucial.

That will allow Ducharme to do what he does best and he will no doubt look to pit the Phillip Danault line against the deadly Brayden Point line in order to attempt to shutdown Tampa’s biggest and most potent threat.

It is clear that this roster responds to Ducharme too given how well they’ve played so far this postseason, so having him back behind the bench may well given this Canadiens team the boost they need in order to go and win Game 3 and make this series a best-of-four.