Geekie scores 100th career goal, Bruins beat Canadiens 4-3

BOSTON (AP) — Morgan Geekie scored his 100th career goal with 5:53 remaining to break a tie and give the Boston Bruins a 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.

Geekie’s winner, his second goal of the night, came on the power play just 12 seconds after Fraser Minten fired a backhander that beat Montreal goalie Samuel Montembeault to tie the game at 3-3.

Viktor Arvidsson also scored a goal and Charlie McAvoy had three assists for Boston, which has won 10 of its last 12 and seven straight on TD Garden ice. Jeremy Swayman had 22 saves.

Cole Caufield had his second career hat trick for Montreal while Montembeault made 17 saves. Caufield now has 29 goals this season and is the first Montreal skater to have a hat trick in Boston since 1997.

Caufield’s first goal extended his point streak to five games and came at 6:36 of the opening period. His second goal while on the power play broke a 1-1 tie in the second period and featured a one-timer from just below the left circle.

Geekie’s first goal squared it at 2-2 and marked the third of four power-play goals between the teams in the second period. David Pastrnak carved out some space before delivering a pinpoint pass that Geekie hammered home from close range.

Caufield’s third goal gave the Canadiens a 3-2 lead and was a carbon copy of his second — below the circle and on point with his shot into a tight corner on the power play.

Boston was 3 for 4 on the power play while Montreal was 2 for 3 on the man advantage.

Canadiens: Host Vegas on Tuesday night.

Bruins: Travel to face the New York Rangers on Monday night.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL

Boston Bruins center Sean Kuraly (52) covers his face after sustaining an injury battling Montreal Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle (21) during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Boston Bruins in Boston, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Montreal Canadiens right wing Cole Caufield celebrates after his goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Boston Bruins in Boston, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Samuel Montembeault (35) stops Boston Bruins center Pavel Zacha (18) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Boston, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Boston Bruins center Morgan Geekie (39) celebrates his second period goal against the Montreal Canadiens in an NHL hockey game in Boston, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Boston Bruins center Morgan Geekie (39) scores a goal with Montreal Canadiens goaltender Samuel Montembeault (35) out of position in the second period of an NHL hockey game in Boston, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African soldiers deployed to high-crime areas have dismantled illegal gold mining operations in a community near Johannesburg, forcing some illegal miners to flee and abandon their equipment.

Police and the army recovered various tools used by illegal miners, including generators and drill machines — equipment documented by an Associated Press photographer on Thursday.

Makeshift trenches with food supplies and utensils belonging to the miners were also dismantled, with clothing items left behind after the miners fled the site in Randfontein, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) to the west of Johannesburg.

The operations were part of a rare move by the government to deploy soldiers in some of the country's most crime-ridden areas, including in the Western Cape province that includes the city of Cape Town and the economic hub province of Gauteng.

With dozens of abandoned mine shafts lining the outskirts of Johannesburg, illegal mining is rife in the area as heavily armed crime syndicates and informal miners known as “zama zamas” enter the shafts in search of leftover deposits of gold or other precious minerals.

It is illegal to mine without a government license, and in some places, the conditions are dangerous.

Other provinces with abandoned shafts, like the North West and Mpumalanga, have also experienced high levels of illegal mining, sometimes with tragic consequences.

Authorities say there are an estimated 30,000 illegal miners in South Africa, operating in some of its 6,000 abandoned mine shafts.

The government has noted an increase in illegal mining, which it estimates is worth more than $4 billion a year just in gold lost to criminal syndicates.

The trade is believed to be predominantly controlled by migrants from neighboring Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique, stoking anger among South African communities against both the criminal bosses and foreigners living in the local community.

Responding to questions from lawmakers on Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the deployment of the troops would take place alongside other measures, such as strengthening anti-gang units and illegal mining task teams.

“The police will also be working with the National Prosecuting Authority on multi-disciplinary task teams to target the leadership, finances, firearms and logistics of these criminal networks,” Ramaphosa said.

South African National Defense Force soldiers recover a generator left behind by illegal miners, during a patrol in Randfontein, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

A South African National Defense Force soldier patrols in a dense bush where illegal miners are operating, in Randfontein, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

South African National Defense Force soldiers retrieve clothing and food stock left by illegal miners, in Randfontein, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

South African National Defense Force soldiers and police officers cross a water stream used by illegal miners, during a patrol in Randfontein, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

South African National Defense Force soldiers and police officers load recovered generators and machinery left behind by illegal miners, during a patrol in Randfontein, west of Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)