Jake Evans leads Canadiens past Blackhawks with three-point night

CHICAGO · Jake Evans scored two goals and set up another to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night. Evans tied the game in the first period before scoring a short-handed goal in the second to put Montreal ahead for good. Kaiden Guhle and Mike Matheson also scored for the Canadiens, who improved to 4-1-1 in their last six games. Chicago has dropped two straight and four of its last six.

Evans' third point, a feed to Guhle with 1:34 left in the second period, matched his career high. The Blackhawks opened the scoring on Connor Bedard's second goal of the season just 4:23 into the game. The Canadiens began to control the play after that, and by mid-period were limiting Chicago's chances. A wide-open game tightened up late in the first period, which worked to Montreal's advantage.

Montreal goaltender Jacob Fowler made 20 saves and was lightly tested the rest of the game despite five Chicago power plays. He needed to make only three saves in the final period. Evans tied the game 1-1 with his first goal of the season with 2:31 remaining in the first period. He then gave the Canadiens a 2-1 lead at 7:51 of the second, beating Chicago goalie Spencer Knight with a wrist shot over the stick side while Montreal was skating short-handed.

Guhle extended the lead to 3-1 later in the second, firing a shot from the left point that beat Knight on the stick side with Josh Anderson providing a screen in front. Matheson sealed the victory with an empty-net goal with 2:38 left in regulation. The Canadiens' recent success includes a 1-0 shootout win over Detroit earlier this month where Fowler recorded a 30-save shutout. Up next: The Canadiens visit the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday for the outdoor Heritage Classic, while the Blackhawks host the Florida Panthers.

With files from The Globe and Mail, Yahoo Sports and Winnipeg Sun