Drouin has 2 goals, 2 assists to help Canadiens beat Jets

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MONTREAL (AP) — Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice summed up the Jets' night in a hurry.

"Coach was no good, the players were no good, the food was no good," Maurice said. "Just hope the plane works."

Jonathan Drouin had two goals and two assists for his first four-point game and the Canadiens beat the Central Division-leading Jets 5-2 on Thursday night for their third straight victory.

Captain Shea Weber, Phillip Danault and Jesperi Kotkaniemi also scored to help the Canadiens improve to 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. Carey Price made 32 saves for his seventh consecutive victory.

"This was one of our best games this year," coach Claude Julien said. "This was a team that we had a ton of respect for because of who they are and how good they are. And we were ready to play them. I didn't say we were intimidated by them, but we respected them. We knew we had to play well. We went out there and took charge. A good 60-minute effort, that's all I can say."

Danault also had three assists for a four-point game, and Kotkaniemi has scored in four consecutive games. The Canadiens had a season-high 53 shots.

"We've been saying that all year, we can compete against anyone," said Drouin, who has nine points in his last three games. "They're a big physical team and we beat them with our speed. When you have more than 50 shots on net, you're obviously doing something right."

Montreal jumped ahead of Boston into third place in the Atlantic Division, one point behind Toronto.

Mark Scheifele and Brendan Lemieux scored, and Connor Hellebuyck stopped 48 shots for Winnipeg. The Jets have lost two in a row.

"Definitely a busy night," Hellebuyck said. "I was having some fun out there, doing my job. We were right in it until the end. One of the fastest teams we've ever played. They came to play and were all over us."

NOTES: Dustin Byfuglien was back for the Jets after missing 15 straight games because of a lower-body injury. The defenseman was injured against Minnesota on Dec. 29. ... Tomas Tatar returned for Montreal after missing a game with the flu.

UP NEXT

Jets: At Ottawa on Saturday.

Canadiens: Host Toronto on Saturday night.