Jake Evans scores twice as Montreal Canadiens defeat Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 at United Center

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

CHICAGO — Jake Evans scored twice and added an assist to help the Montreal Canadiens defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 on Friday at United Center.

Kaiden Guhle contributed a goal and an assist for the Canadiens, and Jacob Fowler stopped 20 shots as Montreal improved to 5-3-2. The win came as the Canadiens had won two of their past three games.

Chicago’s Connor Bedard scored the only Blackhawks goal of the night, and Spencer Knight made 24 saves. The loss left the Blackhawks at 3-7-0, with Chicago having dropped two straight.

Bedard gave Chicago a 1-0 lead at 4:23 of the first period. Patrick Kane fed Bedard in the neutral zone, and Bedard skated into the offensive zone before roofing a wrist shot past Fowler’s glove.

Evans tied the game 1-1 at 17:29 of the first period with his first goal of the season. He received a one-touch pass from Kirby Dach along the goal line to the left of the net, swung out in front, and beat Knight glove side.

Evans then scored again to put Montreal ahead 2-1 when he converted a short-handed opportunity at 7:45 of the second period. The play developed into a 2-on-1 rush down the left side, with Evans finishing on a wrist shot from the left face-off dot.

Guhle extended Montreal’s lead to 3-1 at 18:26 of the second period. He finished a wrist shot from the left point that found the net through traffic, with Josh Anderson screening in front and helping to prevent Knight from seeing the puck.

In the third period, Mike Matheson scored his first goal of the season on an empty net at 17:22 to seal the 4-1 final.

The Canadiens also managed a late lineup change, playing without captain Nick Suzuki. Suzuki was out 2-4 weeks with an upper-body injury, and the game marked the first time since making his NHL debut in 2019-20 that the 27-year-old forward missed a league game.

Montreal’s next game is against the Winnipeg Jets in the 2026 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic at Winnipeg’s Princess Auto Stadium on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, with broadcast information listed by the NHL as SN, TVAS, TNT, truTV, and HBO MAX.