Here's my three takeaways from tonight's 4-1 Montreal Canadiens win over the Chicago Blackhawks, brought to you by Snap Bar Sportif in Rigaud and Biggs in Hudson. 1- Night one without Suzuki was OK The Canadiens are going to have to find a way to tread water without Nick Suzuki, and tonight was a good opportunity to pick up two points to start an extended road trip. As for Oliver Kapanen filling Suzuki's spot? He was... OK. His line finished with a 47.3 per cent Corsi share, but was out chanced and surrendered more high-danger scoring opportunities than it generated. They were also on the ice for Chicago's lone goal, although that came off an unfortunate sequence when Juraj Slafkovsky attempted to dump the puck in and hit a linesman, leading to a turnover. There were also some adjustments on the power play, with Montreal using a different look that featured Noah Dobson in a two-defenceman setup. The Canadiens generated some opportunities but couldn't capitalize. All things considered, Kapanen didn't look out of place in a much bigger role. He wasn't spectacular, but he didn't need to be. Replacing Suzuki isn't something one player is going to accomplish, and expecting Kapanen to suddenly provide everything the captain brings would be completely unrealistic. But let's also keep things in perspective. This was one game against a bad hockey team. The competition is going to get tougher, the matchups more challenging, and the responsibilities more demanding. That's when we'll get a much better idea of how well Kapanen can handle the assignment. 2- Jake Evans had himself a night One of the best nights of Jake Evans' career, with three points, including what turned out to be the game-winning goal. It was the third three point game of his career. Evans is a valuable player for the Canadiens, and his value has very little to do with offensive production. He kills penalties, handles difficult defensive assignments, skates well, forechecks effectively and is the type of player a coach can trust in just about any situation. But tonight, he provided the offence too. With Suzuki unavailable, Montreal is going to have to find ways to manufacture offence throughout its lineup. There's no replacing the captain's production, leadership and all-around impact with one player. It's going to have to be a collective effort. And with an "A" on his jersey in Suzuki's absence, Evans certainly led by example. The Canadiens aren't going to get three points from Jake Evans every night. But if they're going to navigate this stretch successfully, they'll need different players to step up at different times. Tonight, it was Evans' turn. 3- They did it! It's about time. The Canadiens won a game in regulation. The Canadiens protected a third-period lead. The Canadiens took care of a team they absolutely should beat. And there were some noticeable differences in how the Canadiens approached the third period compared to games in which they've squandered leads. For starters, they simplified things. They weren't trying to force plays through the neutral zone or make the perfect pass every time they had the puck. They were content to chip pucks deep, get in on the forecheck and make Chicago work to get out of its own end. They were hungry on loose pucks, won battles and, perhaps most importantly, looked like the team that wanted it more. There's a time and place for creativity, but when you're protecting a lead in the third period, there's absolutely nothing wrong with dumbing down your game a little. It might not be the most exciting brand of hockey, but winning hockey isn't always pretty. And after the terrible collapse against San Jose on Tuesday, this was exactly the kind of response the Canadiens needed. Now the challenge is proving they can do it consistently, especially against better competition. @tsn690