Auston Matthews scored for the first time since returning from an injury and the Toronto Maple Leafs went on to defeat the visiting Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 on Monday night.

John Tavares, Fraser Minten and Matthew Knies also scored for the Maple Leafs, who have won two games in a row. Anthony Stolarz made 27 saves.

Matthews opened the scoring with his sixth goal of the season at 15:35 of the first period. It was his first goal since missing nine games with an upper-body injury. He had two assists upon making his return on Saturday in a 5-3 road win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Lukas Reichel scored for the Blackhawks, who have lost three in a row. Chicago goaltender Arvid Soderblom stopped 18 shots.

Devils 5, Rangers 1

Jack Hughes recorded two goals during a three-goal second period for visiting New Jersey, which never trailed while cruising to an easy win over New York.

Jesper Bratt scored 87 seconds into the contest and tied a career high with three assists, and the Devils scored at least five goals for the 11th time in their first 28 games. Hughes registered his 22nd career multi-goal game and fourth against the Rangers.

Jacob Markstrom made a season-best 38 saves and was aided by a defense that blocked 27 shots as the Devils improved to 12-5-0 in their past 17 games. Chris Kreider scored a power-play goal for the Rangers, who lost for the sixth time in seven games.

Stars 2, Utah Hockey Club 1

Casey DeSmith made 34 saves to help Dallas earn a win against Utah in Salt Lake City.

Evgenii Dadonov and Jamie Benn scored second-period goals for the Stars, who have won three in a row.

Nick Schmaltz scored his third goal in the past two games and Karel Vejmelka made 19 saves for Utah, which was coming off a 6-0 road win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday but is still looking to win two in a row for the first time since starting 3-0-0.

–Field Level Media