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