Matthews scores first goal since return from injury, Maple Leafs beat Blackhawks 4-1

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

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

Lukas Reichel scored for Chicago, which has lost three straight. Arvid Soderblom stopped 18 shots.

Matthews missed nine games with an upper-body injury 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 center 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.

Leafs: Jake McCabe sat out after taking a puck to the head Saturday. The defenseman 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.

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

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

The Blackhawks start a two-game homestand against the Bruins on Wednesday, while the Maple Leafs host the Predators the same night.

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