Evans Ends Drought in Style as Canadiens Down Blackhawks 4-1

CHICAGO — Jake Evans had waited all season for a night like this, and when it finally arrived, it changed the shape of a game, a road trip and, for one evening at least, the mood around the Montreal Canadiens. Playing without captain Nick Suzuki for the first time in years, Montreal needed someone to step into the space he usually fills. Evans did more than that on Friday night at the United Center, scoring twice and setting up another goal as the Canadiens beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1.

The victory was not straightforward, and for a long stretch it did not look comfortable. Chicago struck first, feeding off an early break and a loud home crowd. Connor Bedard opened the scoring at 4:23 of the first period, finishing a rush that began when a Montreal clearance struck a linesman and fell kindly for Patrick Kane. Kane moved the puck quickly to Bedard in the neutral zone, and the Chicago captain roofed a wrist shot past Jacob Fowler. It was Bedard's second goal of the season, and it gave the Blackhawks the fast start they had wanted after a difficult opening stretch.

Montreal, though, refused to panic. The Canadiens had taken time to find their rhythm, recording their first shot on goal only after more than three minutes, but they gradually tightened the game. Chicago's early freedom narrowed as Montreal's structure improved, and the visitors began to limit second chances. By the middle of the first period, the contest had become the kind of grinding road game that suits a team trying to protect a lead rather than chase one.

Evans provided the turning point late in the period. With 2:31 remaining, he finished a neat move involving Kirby Dach and Owen Beck, taking a one-touch pass along the goal line, swinging out in front and beating Spencer Knight on the glove side. It was his first goal of the season, and his first point after nine scoreless games. The timing mattered as much as the finish: Montreal went into the first break level instead of trailing, and the equaliser gave a team missing its captain something tangible to build on.

The second period belonged to Evans and to Montreal's discipline. At 7:45, with Chicago on the power play, Evans broke down the left side on a two-on-one rush and scored with a wrist shot from the left face-off circle, again beating Knight on the stick side. A short-handed goal is always a blow to the team with the advantage, and this one was doubly painful for Chicago because it came from a power play that had created chances but failed to convert. The Blackhawks finished the night 0-for-5 with the extra skater, while Montreal went 0-for-3, and that special-teams difference told a large part of the story.

Evans was not finished. With 1:34 left in the second period, he turned provider, feeding Kaiden Guhle for a goal that stretched Montreal's lead to 3-1. Guhle's wrist shot from the left point found its way through traffic, with Josh Anderson screening Knight in front. Fowler, lightly tested for long stretches, made only three saves in the final period, but his calm handling of Chicago's late pushes kept the game from reopening.

Mike Matheson sealed the result with 2:38 remaining, scoring into an empty net for his first goal of the season after missing four games with a lower-body injury. Fowler finished with 20 saves, Knight with 24, and the final score reflected Montreal's control after the opening minutes rather than the balance of the first ten.

The wider context made the win more significant than a single result in October. Suzuki, the Canadiens' captain and reigning Selke Trophy winner, is expected to miss two to four weeks with an upper-body injury, ending a run of 546 consecutive regular-season appearances dating back to his debut in 2019. He had recorded 12 points in nine games before the injury, and his absence removes Montreal's most reliable centre, its defensive conscience and its first-choice matchup option.

Chicago, meanwhile, was left to confront familiar frustrations. The Blackhawks fell to 3-7-0, their second straight defeat, and the home crowd made its displeasure clear during the game. Bedard's milestone goal — the 77th of his NHL career, tying Alex DeBrincat for the sixth-most by a Blackhawks player aged 21 or younger — was a bright spot, as was Kane's assist, the 897th of his career and three short of 900. Ian Cole also reached a personal landmark, playing his 1,000th NHL game. Yet none of those moments changed the pattern: a strong start, missed power-play chances, a costly short-handed goal against, and too little scoring to recover.

Montreal improved to 5-3-2 and to 2-0-1 in its past three games, with a 4-1-1 record across its past six. More importantly, the Canadiens found a template for life without Suzuki: defend in numbers, trust the goaltender, kill penalties cleanly and let depth players seize their moments. Evans, who had gone without a point through nine games, chose the perfect night to break that drought. The road trip now continues with a far bigger stage on Sunday, when Montreal visits Winnipeg for the Heritage Classic at Princess Auto Stadium. Chicago stays home to host Florida the same day, needing a response that is more sustained than its promising opening minutes in this game. For one night, though, the story belonged to a player who had waited patiently for his first goal — and then scored twice.