Jake Evans produced two goals and an assist to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Friday night.
Chicago opened the scoring 4:23 into the first period when Connor Bedard connected on a snap shot off a setup from Patrick Kane. Montreal answered late in the frame at 17:29, as Evans netted his first goal of the season on a wrist shot assisted by Kirby Dach and Owen Beck to tie the score.
Evans struck again at 7:45 of the second period, scoring a shorthanded wrist goal assisted by Kaiden Guhle to put the Canadiens ahead. Guhle extended the advantage to 3-1 at 18:26 of the second with his first goal of the season on a wrist shot, set up by Evans and Alexandre Carrier. Mike Matheson sealed the victory with an empty-net snap shot at 17:22 of the third period, his first goal of the year, assisted by Phillip Danault.
Canadiens goaltender Jacob Fowler earned the win with 20 saves on 21 shots, and Montreal killed off all five Chicago power plays. Spencer Knight took the loss for the Blackhawks, turning aside 24 of 27 shots as Chicago went 0-for-5 on the man advantage and Montreal finished 0-for-3.
The win moved the Canadiens to 5-3-2 on the season, while the Blackhawks dropped to 3-7-0 and extended their winless streak to two games.
Montreal visits the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday, while Chicago remains home to host the Florida Panthers on Sunday.
