Struggling Canadiens fire Julien

The struggling Canadiens fired head coach Claude Julien and associate coach Kirk Muller on Wednesday following a three-game skid.

Assistant coach Dominique Ducharme was appointed interim coach, and Alex Burrows was added to the Canadiens’ coaching staff.

After a one-week break in their schedule, the Canadiens have lost three in a row. They’ve lost five of six and six of eight since a strong start.

A 5-4 shootout loss to the Senators on Tuesday night marked the end of the line for Julien, who returned for his second go-round as the Canadiens’ coach midway through the 2016-17 season.

The Canadiens were battling the Maple Leafs for top spot in the North Division earlier in the season but have since dropped into fourth.

Julien had to leave the team during the first round of the playoffs last year when he had a stent installed in a coronary artery. Muller took over the head coaching duties, and the Habs extended the top-seeded Flyers to six games before bowing out.

The Habs were the lowest-ranked team to qualify for the 24-team postseason last year and then upset the Penguins in the qualifying round.

Ducharme joined the Canadiens’ staff in April 2018 after 10 seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He has twice been Canada’s coach at the world junior championship.

Burrows has been a member of the coaching staff for the team’s AHL affiliate in Laval, Quebec, the last two seasons.

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