Lukas Reichel scored and Arvid Soderblom made 18 saves for the Blackhawks (8-15-2), who are 1-3-1 in their last five games.

“I thought we played a pretty good game, had some possession at the end, some chances and looks, but that’s how it went,” Chicago defenseman TJ Brodie said. “I think we could have gotten to (Stolarz) better, there were a few pucks there that came loose.”

Matthews gave the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead at 15:35 of the first period. He was sent into play alone by a pass from William Nylander and scored between Soderblom’s pads.

It was the sixth goal of the season and first since Oct. 31 for Matthews, who missed nine games before picking up two assists in his return Saturday, a 5-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“I just think it’s his presence on the ice in the offensive zone and the defensive zone,” Stolarz said of Matthews. “He’s so smart, he’s so strong with the stick and you can always count on him to get into the right position in the defensive zone and he’s always a threat in the offensive zone.” Look at this goal tonight, He gets a nice pass and just makes our team much better.”

Tavares made it 2-0 at 11:59 of the second period. He turned and his shot from the right faceoff point landed off Alex Vlasic’s stick, then off Connor Murphy’s left shoulder at the top of the goal crease and over Soderblom’s glove.

Reichel made it 2-1 at 3:26 of the third period when he placed a rebound at the top of the crease.

“We created chances in the second and third thirds. “It wasn’t a great game, but we were fully engaged in the offensive zone and went to the net, but unfortunately we couldn’t get a good jump (enough),” Reichel said. “We just have to find ways to win the game when it’s 2-1 or when we’re behind. It’s pretty tough at the moment.”

Fraser Minten scored 21 seconds later at 3:47 to make it 3-1. Conor Timmins’ point shot bounced off the end boards, bounced off the side of the net and found Minten, who scored from the bottom of the right circle.

“That’s a big goal,” Berube said. “It was a smart move by Timmins. We talked to their goalie about that because he really comes out and challenges, so there’s a lot to see there. That was just a really smart move by Timmins.”