MONTREAL -- Interim head coach Dominique Ducharme pushed all the right buttons and his players showed the desperation needed to come back and force overtime. But the Montreal Canadiens remained winless in the fourth period as they fell 4-3 to the Winnipeg Jets last night.

In the end, the Habs didn’t lose when Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers beat goaltender Carey Price through the wickets in the extra frame. Rather, it was unforced errors by Canadiens defencemen that created a mountain that proved too high to climb despite a compete level from the team that should bring a smile to fans' faces.

Within the first minute carelessness with the puck by captain Shea Weber resulted in the Habs being down by one, with Jets captain Blake Wheeler the beneficiary. Weber in particular struggled mightily with the puck on his stick. His passing was erratic and he didn’t inspire much confidence in possession.

Later in the first period, it was rookie Alexander Romanov who put Brendan Gallagher into a tough spot with a pass to his backhand along the boards that was nearly impossible for the Habs forward to handle.

The puck was predictably turned over and moments later Jets forward Kyle Connor deposited it into a wide-open cage.

Gallagher was again the victim while Jeff Petry was the new culprit as he threw a pass into the pesky forward’s feet at the blueline with Winnipeg defenceman Josh Morrisey right there to turn it over. Connor was once again the beneficiary of the Habs' passing problems and stretched the Jets lead to 3-1 going into the third.

“We’ve played them enough. We knew what kind of forecheck they were coming with,” remarked Gallagher postgame. “They did a pretty good job executing but you’ve got to make plays. It’s what it comes down to. Support needs to be there and you have to make plays and execute. They just did a better job forechecking than we did breaking out. Definitely an area where we weren’t good enough.”

Where the Canadiens were good enough, better than the Jets, in fact, was nearly every other facet of the game. A performance deserving of two points netted the Habs only one due to their own mistakes. But aside from those moments, in general, the team played an above-average road game. The Habs forechecked well and pinned Winnipeg back in their own zone in an icing-filled second period, albeit without more to show for it than Phillip Danault’s second of the season.

The visitors turned up the heat in the third as Ducharme's lineup tinkering in the second intermission bore fruit. The coach reunited the trio of Danault with Gallagher and Tomas Tatar and installed veteran Corey Perry alongside Nick Suzuki and Tyler Toffoli. The result was a barrage of constant pressure in the Jets' zone, with Gallagher’s determined goal cutting the deficit to 3-2. Next, it was Perry finding Toffoli with a sublime backdoor pass to even things up in the final seconds with Price on the bench. Ducharme has been credited with several positive changes since taking over for Claude Julien. But the one he has been lauded for most has been in-game adjustments and his decisive changes earned the Habs a point last night.

“Points are just so critical,” rued Gallagher.

“You can look at it both ways… It’s a big point but you can look at it the other way, they got one more point than we did. It was a big overtime and they found a way to win the hockey game.”

It’s been spoken about to death and will be for the next 48 hours. But the Canadiens are now 0-for-8 in games that go to overtime or the shootout.

Even half of those points would see the Habs level with Winnipeg and Edmonton in a three-way tie for second in the North division. Danault started overtime and despite a brilliant pass to Petry that could have killed off the game didn’t retain possession afterwards. Instead, he threw the puck to Petry in a vulnerable position and made an ill-advised change that resulted in the odd-man rush that got the Jets the win. There is half the season left to play and the Canadiens remain in a precarious position when it comes to playoff participation. They cannot afford to continue to bleed points as they have. A clear and concise strategy must be devised by the coaching staff.

The Habs picked up half of the points available to them on their six-game road trip, an average return for a team that has made their living away from home. The Canadiens now return to the Bell Centre for the next six games, where they have struggled. The team has a division-worst record of 5-5-1 at home. It’s clearly not just overtime that needs fixing. But there were some solid blocks to build upon last night.

PLAYER RATINGS

Goaltender

Carey Price – 8/10
Connor Hellebuyck may have been better, but Price was solid enough. Maybe could have been better on Wheeler’s opener but that’s nitpicking. The best of his 26 stops was a split save to deny Kyle Connor his hat trick. Maybe the team should consider using his superior puck handling in some way in overtime? Just a thought.

Defencemen

Shea Weber – 6/10
Strangely enough, his best moments were driving into the Jets' zone, including a great slot pass to Tatar that should have been a goal. Decent defensively but struggled mightily moving the puck up to his forwards and through the neutral zone.
Most nights his puck movement is good enough to survive. Last night it wasn’t. Not sure why he played three more minutes than Petry.

Joel Edmundson – 6/10
Quiet enough night at the office and led the defencemen in hits. Not particularly noticeable either offensively or defensively. Decent enough job on the penalty kill.

Jeff Petry – 7/10
He was terrific offensively, causing all kinds of problems on the overload. Could have won the game in overtime but his tip was stopped in close by Hellebuyck. However not only was it his pass into traffic that led to Connor's second but he also didn’t track the Jets forward back to the front of the net, allowing him to cash in on the doorstep. Put into a bad spot in overtime and his turnover led to the winner.

Brett Kulak – 7/10
The emergence of Kulak alongside Petry continues. His confidence is at a season-high right now. His skating allowed him to keep his gap defensively and also cut in wide into the offensive zone. His drive to the net in the third should have led to a Byron goal if not for a spectacular Hellebuyck save. Can he keep it up? So far, so good.

Alexander Romanov – 6/10
Not nearly as physical as the last game against Winnipeg. His inaccurate pass to Gallagher was the turnover that led to Connors' first. Got caught in no-man’s land on the same play as well. Did do a better job of getting his shot through on net. Last night was an example of the inconsistency you can expect from a rookie defenceman.

Xavier Ouellet – 5/10
Fought the puck all night long. Not there to be a puck mover, but needs to be more efficient with his decision-making. His physicality was not at the same level as it was Monday night. John Tortorella would love him as his first instinct is always to block a shot. One crucial block in tight was the highlight of his night.

Forwards

Nick Suzuki – 6/10
Looked a step off the pace last night, which is disappointing considering you’d have wanted him to build on his return to form last game. Looked better on the powerplay. But didn’t do much until Perry was moved up alongside him. Did some decent work on the forecheck in the third. But could have been better. Faceoff struggles again.

Tyler Toffoli – 7/10
Not particularly noticeable during the game save for a couple of half chances. But ghosted his way away from the traffic and scored the all-important game-tying goal late on a terrific pass from Perry. Tied with Connor McDavid for second in the league in goals with 18. He’s making $4.25 million. Value.

Corey Perry – 8/10
The crafty veteran was one of the Habs best on the night. Whether it was holding up the puck to bring teammates into the play or digging for loose pucks or driving into the danger zones, he made things happen all over the ice. A nuisance in front of the net as always. But the highlight of the night was his brilliant pass to Toffoli for the game-tying goal. Another great game from the veteran.

Phillip Danault – 7/10
He’ll be the topic of conversation for his usage in overtime as well as for his pass to Petry in traffic and his line change that led to the winner. But his second of the season was big in terms of his confidence and the confidence of his teammates. Looked off Hellebuyck the whole way, sold the pass and then fired an inch-perfect shot to beat him. Intense and determined hounding for the puck.

Brendan Gallagher – 8/10
Great play to along the board to get the puck to Tatar for Danault’s goal. His goal was pure determination and the celebration was pure intensity. Might have to start getting him to take faceoffs regularly such was his prowess last night. Like he often does set the tone for his team with his hard work, particularly when the Habs pushed in the third. A quiet 11 goals on the season so far.

Tomas Tatar – 7/10
Reunited with his old mates and it felt so good. His smart banked pass to Gallagher got the ball rolling for Danault’s first. His compete level rose in the third with his familiar linemates. Might see the three of them back together for the foreseeable future.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi – 6/10
He’s had better games. Couldn’t find much space in dangerous positions for either himself or his linemates. But he had a grittier night than usual, battling down low to try and turn over pucks. Only one shot on goal isn’t ideal. Led the centres in ice time, which doesn’t happen very often. Tough night in the faceoff dot again. But he was solid enough throughout.

Jonathan Drouin – 7/10
Continues to trust his shot and keeps trying to unleash it. But like his linemates couldn’t get inside for many high danger scoring chances. His wave of the powerplay looked better than they have in a bit. His pass off the boards late set up Perry’s primary assist for Toffoli. Not many times in the past would you have seen him digging in the corner for a puck late. Growing.

Josh Anderson – 6/10
Didn’t do much of the textbook power forward thing last night. Instead opted for more of a Perry-like game. Dug in hard on the boards and went to the front of the net even more than usual to try and disrupt Hellebuyck. No shots on goal though and only one hit on the night.

Jake Evans – 5/10
The only Habs forward to have less than 10 minutes of ice time. Not unexpected considering they were chasing the game. Much better showing in the faceoff dot. But didn’t get many chances to do much. Disruptive on one shift in the third.

Paul Byron – 6/10
Had the best chance of the game in tight with Hellebuyck sprawled out but the Winnipeg goaltender somehow got a pad to it. Tied with Gallagher for the team lead in hits with four. Needs to be more mindful of his surroundings. Had an odd-man rush going but opted to try and drive the net to no avail. Best member of his line though.

Joel Armia – 5/10
Moved down to the fourth line and justifiably so. Did very little either offensively or defensively earl on. One of the best chances of the game fell to him point-blank in front of the net in the third but he fired it right into Hellebuyck’s glove. One of those off nights for him.

Coach

Dominique Ducharme – 8/10
All of the changes he made after 40 minutes worked tremendously well. His team played with the appropriate level of desperation. Penalty kill and powerplay looked solid. But he has to start really thinking about not only the proper usage of players in overtime but how to work with his team in practice to break the mental hold that 3-on-3 has on them. Confidence is clearly low in that situation. Needs to spend more time on it. Especially in the intra-divisional format this season.