The Canadiens needed a clean road win without Nick Suzuki, and they got one. They beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 at the United Center on Friday night, and they did it after giving up the first goal on a pair of turnovers in the first five minutes. Jake Evans scored twice, including a short-handed goal, Kaiden Guhle added a goal and an assist, and Mike Matheson sealed it with an empty-net goal in his first game back. Montreal is now 5-3-2 with 12 points. Chicago drops to 3-7-0.
Two Turnovers, One Goal Against
The start was not pretty. Lane Hutson gave the puck away in the neutral zone at 3:43, and after the next faceoff he gave it away again in the offensive zone at 4:05. Eighteen seconds later Connor Bedard snapped one past Jacob Fowler with Patrick Kane getting the assist, and it was 1-0 Chicago. That was a five-on-five goal, and it came straight off a Montreal mistake. Hutson finished with four giveaways, the most on the team, but he also finished a plus-1 in 22:04.
What matters is how the team answered. The Canadiens did not chase the game. They kept the puck in the offensive zone, cycled, and kept putting pucks toward the net until one went in.
Evans Ties It on the Fourth Line
With 2:31 left in the first period, the fourth line did the job. Kirby Dach and Owen Beck set up Evans, who put a wrist shot past Spencer Knight to make it 1-1 at 17:29. The shift before it was full of zone time: Alexandre Carrier, Alex Newhook and Noah Dobson all had attempts in the minute before it, none of them hit the net, but the pressure never stopped. Evans had no points in his first nine games. He had three in this one, and it was his first multi-goal game in the regular season since January 27, 2022.
The Short-Handed Goal That Changed the Night
The second period belonged to the Canadiens, and the turning point came on the penalty kill. Chris Kreider took a high-sticking minor at 6:36 while Chicago had its goalie pulled for the delayed call, so the Blackhawks started with six skaters and then a full power play. Montreal killed the first minute. Phillip Danault got a shot through at 7:18, Kane missed the net on Chicago’s next attempt at 7:38, and seven seconds later Guhle made the play and Evans finished it short-handed to make it 2-1 at 7:45.
That goal matters more than the score. Chicago had five power plays on the night, and they came up empty on all five. Fowler stopped all five shots he faced with the Canadiens a man down, and Montreal killed all five minors, including two to Juraj Slafkovský, one to Newhook, one to Zachary Bolduc and the Kreider penalty. A team that has taken 46 minors this season cannot count on that every game, but tonight the penalty kill was a weapon, not a problem.
Guhle Makes It 3-1 Before the Second Intermission
The third goal came right after a faceoff win in the Montreal end at 18:00. The Canadiens went the other way fast, and Kreider, Josh Anderson and Guhle each fired at the net within seven seconds, all three misses. The pressure paid off at 18:26 when Guhle put a wrist shot past Knight, with Evans and Carrier getting the assists, and it was 3-1 with 1:34 left in the period. Guhle played 23:30, the most of any Montreal player, and was a plus-2.
Fowler Holds the Door
Fowler stopped 20 of 21 shots (.952) for his fourth win of the season. He gave up the early goal on the Bedard shot and nothing after it. Knight stopped 24 of 27 (.889) for Chicago. Montreal outshot Chicago 28-21 and had 53 shot attempts to 40 across the whole game, and the Canadiens won 42 of 67 faceoffs (63 percent). Danault won 14 of 19, Oliver Kapanen won 11 of 18, and Evans won 7 of 12.
Matheson Closes It
Chicago pulled Knight with just over three minutes left. Montreal won a faceoff in its own end at 17:17, and five seconds later Matheson, back in the lineup after missing time with his injury, snapped the puck into the empty net for his first goal of the season, with Danault getting the assist. It was the first goal of the year for both Matheson and Guhle, and the first two of the year for Evans. Cole Caufield did not score, but he put four shots on goal.
| Team stats | Canadiens | Blackhawks |
|---|---|---|
| Final score | 4 | 1 |
| Shots on goal | 28 | 21 |
| Shot attempts (all situations) | 53 | 40 |
| Power play | 0 goals (Chicago took 3 minors) | 0 for 5 |
| Short-handed goals | 1 (Evans) | 0 |
| Hits | 23 | 11 |
| Giveaways | 20 | 11 |
| Faceoffs won | 42 of 67 (63%) | 25 of 67 (37%) |
| Goalie | Fowler 20 saves on 21 | Knight 24 saves on 27 |
What It Means and What Is Next
The Canadiens have now won five of their first ten games and have earned points in seven of them, and this one came on the road without the captain. The coaching staff will still point to the 20 giveaways. A team that turns the puck over that often can lose games it should win, and Chicago’s goal showed how fast it can happen. But the response to the mistake is what a team without Suzuki needs to see: no panic, no penalty spiral, a goalie who made the saves, and the depth players scoring. We broke down what the lineup needs in Canadiens Without Nick Suzuki, and Friday night was a good first answer. Before the game, Danault had said the test would say a lot about the team’s culture: “Normally, with a good culture, when you lose a good player, it stays. That will say a lot about ours in the upcoming games.”
The road trip continues Sunday night at the Winnipeg Jets (7:00 PM ET), then Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues. Our Lineup Tonight and Injury Report pages will be updated with the lines. You can follow the full season on the Canadiens stats page and the schedule.
Sources: NHL game data (box score, play-by-play and event summary), RDS.
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