Montreal won 4-1 on Friday night, spoiling a first-period goal from captain Connor Bedard. Ten games into the franchise's 100th season of play, Chicago sits last in the Central. Replay every game on the board below.
Chicago came back from a five-day break and got the start it wanted. Bedard snapped in a feed from Patrick Kane 4:23 into the first, his second goal of the season. It was the last thing that went right. Jake Evans tied it late in the first, then struck again short-handed off a two-on-one early in the second. Kaiden Guhle's wrist shot through traffic late in the second made it 3-1, and Mike Matheson added an empty-netter.
The power play was the sore spot: five chances, no goals, and the short-handed goal against. Spencer Knight made 24 saves; Jacob Fowler made 20 at the other end. The night's quiet milestone belonged to Chicago defenseman Ian Cole, who played his 1,000th NHL game, becoming the second player from the 2007 draft to get there.
Montreal lost captain Nick Suzuki to an upper-body injury (two to four weeks, per the NHL recap). For Chicago, Bowen Byram missed his third straight game and is day to day; Andrew Mangiapane was activated from injured reserve but scratched.
Bedard was named the 37th captain in team history on September 15 and signed a five-year extension in July, but offseason shoulder surgery cost him camp and the first six games. He returned October 13 with an assist in a 5-3 win over Pittsburgh, scored his first goal two nights later, and has four points in four games.
Patrick Kane, back in Chicago on a two-year deal after leaving Detroit, tied Phil Housley's assist mark for U.S.-born players on October 13. Two days later his 895th assist broke it, and he set up Artyom Levshunov's overtime winner against Winnipeg for good measure.
Chicago lost five of its first six, including an 0-4 road trip to open the year, and allowed 26 goals in that stretch. All three wins have come at the United Center. Knight has carried most of the load in net, with a .888 save percentage entering Friday.
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utah Mammoth | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 14 |
| Minnesota Wild | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 14 |
| Dallas Stars | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 13 |
| Colorado Avalanche | 11 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 13 |
| St. Louis Blues | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 11 |
| Winnipeg Jets | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 11 |
| Nashville Predators | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 6 |
Chicago is three points behind Nashville for seventh, and eight back of the top spot, with 72 games left.
Through nine games. Bedard (goal) and Kane (assist) each added a point against Montreal.
*In three games played. Roman Kantserov and Nazar led in goals with three each.
Start times converted to Central from the published schedule; check the team's listings for any changes.