CHICAGO — An early Connor Bedard goal gave the Blackhawks a lead Friday, but their own power play became the setting for the game’s decisive reversal. Jake Evans scored short-handed in the second period, and Montreal went on to a 4–1 victory at United Center.
The Blackhawks fell to 3–7–0, while the Canadiens improved to 5–3–2. Chicago finished 0-for-5 on the power play. Montreal did not score on its three power plays either, but Evans’ short-handed finish turned special teams into an advantage for the visitors despite those matching zeroes.
Bedard opened the scoring at 4:23 of the first period, taking a Patrick Kane feed and beating Jacob Fowler with a wrist shot. Evans tied the game at 17:29. The teams reached the first intermission level before Evans struck again at 7:45 of the second, finishing a 2-on-1 rush while Montreal was killing a penalty.
Kaiden Guhle made it 3–1 at 18:26 of the second period. Mike Matheson added an empty-net goal at 17:22 of the third. Montreal finished with 28 shots on goal to Chicago’s 21; Fowler stopped 20, and Spencer Knight made 24 saves for the Blackhawks.
Evans contributed two goals and an assist, while Guhle had a goal and an assist. Chicago’s offense never added to Bedard’s opening finish. The inability to convert five power plays therefore carried two consequences: missed opportunities to create a scoring response and the short-handed goal that put the Blackhawks behind.
The night also marked defenseman Ian Cole’s 1,000th NHL appearance. That individual milestone came in a result Chicago could not recover after the second-period shift.
The Blackhawks remain home to face Florida on Sunday, October 25. Their next response will require more than an early lead: Friday showed how quickly one can disappear when an attacking opportunity produces a chance for the opponent instead.
CHICAGO — A familiar name rewrote an NHL record Thursday night, and a younger Blackhawk supplied the finish. Artyom Levshunov scored 1:37 into overtime to lift Chicago past the Winnipeg Jets 4–3 at United Center, capping a game in which Patrick Kane moved ahead of Phil Housley for the most career assists by a United States-born player.
