TORONTO — In an exciting matchup on Monday night, Auston Matthews scored his first goal since returning from an injury, leading the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.
The offense for Toronto was rounded out by goals from John Tavares, Fraser Minten, and Matthew Knies, who sealed the game by scoring into an empty net. Goaltender Anthony Stolarz was solid, recording 27 saves, while Mitch Marner contributed with two assists in his milestone 600th regular-season game.
For the Blackhawks, the lone goal came from Lukas Reichel, marking their third consecutive loss. Arvid Soderblom managed to stop 18 shots in net.
Matthews had been sidelined for nine games due to an upper-body injury, but he made an effective comeback on Saturday by assisting twice in a 5-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 27-year-old center wasted no time making his impact felt, scoring the first goal of the game in the first period.
In the second period, Tavares increased the lead with a shot that deflected off a defender into the net. Although Reichel brought the Blackhawks within one early in the third period, Minten quickly restored the Maple Leafs’ two-goal advantage just 21 seconds later.
In terms of roster updates, the Maple Leafs were without defenseman Jake McCabe, who missed the game after being hit in the head by a puck on Saturday. He joined a long list of sidelined players, which included forwards Max Pacioretty, Max Domi, Bobby McMann, David Kampf, and Calle Jarnkrok. Additionally, defenseman Jani Hakanpaa was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.
On the other hand, the Blackhawks had Connor Bedard, the number one overall pick from the 2023 draft, who entered the game looking to build on his performance of scoring in two of his last three games after previously going 12 games without a goal.
A pivotal moment in the game came when Matthews, who led the league with 69 goals last season, scored his sixth of the current campaign by slipping the puck through Soderblom’s five-hole after receiving a precise pass from William Nylander.
Remarkably, the Maple Leafs have maintained the second-best points percentage in the league for the month of November, with an impressive record of 8 wins, 3 losses, and 1 overtime loss, translating to a .708 percentage. They have also excelled defensively, giving up the fewest goals in the league during this month, totaling just 27, with only 15 of those occurring during five-on-five play across 12 games.
Looking ahead, the Blackhawks are set to start a two-game homestand against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs will be hosting the Nashville Predators on the same night.
