Matthews scores first goal since return from injury, Maple Leafs down Blackhawks

TORONTO — Auston Matthews scored his first goal since returning from injury as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 on Monday.

John Tavares, Fraser Minten and Matthew Knies, into the empty net, provided the rest of the offence for Toronto (15-7-2). Anthony Stolarz made 27 saves. Mitch Marner had two assists in his 600th regular-season game.

Lukas Reichel replied for Chicago (8-15-2), which has lost three straight. Arvid Soderblom stopped 18 shots.

Matthews missed nine games with an upper-body injury — the sniper travelled to Germany to visit a doctor he's seen in the past — before picking up two assists in his return to the lineup Saturday in a 5-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The 27-year-old centre opened the scoring in the first period before Tavares doubled Toronto's lead on a deflected shot in the second. Reichel made it 2-1 early in the third, but Minten restored the home side's two-goal cushion 21 seconds later.

Takeaways

Leafs: Jake McCabe sat out after taking a puck to the head Saturday. The defenceman joined forwards Max Pacioretty, Max Domi, Bobby McMann, David Kampf and Calle Jarnkrok on the sidelines. Fellow blueliner Jani Hakanpaa, meanwhile, was added to injured reserve Monday with a lower-body issue.

Blackhawks: Connor Bedard, the top pick at the 2023 draft, entered with goals in two of his last three contests following a 12-game drought.

Key moment

Matthews, who led the NHL with an outrageous 69 goals last season, beat Soderblom five-hole off a slick William Nylander feed for his sixth of the campaign.

Key stat

Leafs owned the league's second-best points percentage in November (8-3-1, .708). Toronto also allowed the fewest goals against — a paltry 27, including just 15 at 5-on-5 — over that 12-game span.

Up next

Toronto continues a three-game homestand Wednesday against the Nashville Predators, while Chicago hosts the Boston Bruins the same night.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.

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Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press