McDavid scores in OT, Bouchard nets hat trick as Oilers edge Capitals 6-5

Connor McDavid scored 46 seconds into overtime, Evan Bouchard had his first NHL hat trick and three assists, and the Edmonton Oilers held on for a 6-5 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday night.

Bouchard's six-point game came in his 400th regular-season contest. McDavid had a goal and three assists in regulation, Zach Hyman scored and Leon Draisaitl contributed three assists for the Oilers.

Edmonton netminder Connor Ingram gave up three goals on 12 shots before being replaced by Tristan Jarry midway through the second period. Jarry made 13 saves to close out the victory.

Washington got off to a slow start and didn’t register a shot on goal until the final minute of the first period. Connor McMichael had a goal and an assist, while Aliaksei Protas, Justin Sourdif, Dylan Strome and Anthony Beauvillier all got goals. Charlie Lindgren stopped 34 of the 40 shots he faced.

Washington was coming off a 3-1 win over the Flames in Calgary on Friday, and is now 1-4-0 in its last five games.

Washington’s first goal came just 22 seconds after Bouchard opened the scoring and the visitors leveled the score again two minutes and 37 seconds after his second of the night.

The Capitals climbed back into the game despite going down a defenseman late in the first period after Rasmus Sandin was hurt blocking a shot in the dying seconds of the opening frame and had to be helped off the ice. He did not return.

Draisaitl registered his 600th regular-season assist on Bouchard’s second goal. He is the fourth player in franchise history with 600 assists, following McDavid, Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier.

Capitals: Visit the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night.

Oilers: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night.

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

Washington Capitals' Connor McMichael (24) and Edmonton Oilers' Mattias Ekholm (14) battle for the puck during the first period of an NHL game, in Edmonton on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Washington Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren (79) is scored on as Edmonton Oilers' Zach Hyman (18) knocks his glove off during the second period of an NHL game, in Edmonton on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Washington Capitals' goalie Charlie Lindgren (79) makes a save against Edmonton Oilers' Zach Hyman (18) as Capitals' John Carlson (74) defends during second-period NHL hockey game action in Edmonton, Alberta, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl (29), Evan Bouchard, center, and Mattias Ekholm (14) celebrate after a goal against the Washington Capitals during second-period NHL hockey game action in Edmonton, Alberta, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid (97) celebrates his game-winning goal against the Washington Capitals during overtime NHL action in Edmonton, Alberta, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

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)