By The Canadian Press

Bouchard brilliant as Edmonton Oilers down Washington Capitals 6-5 in OT

Jan 24, 2026 | 10:06 PM

EDMONTON — Connor McDavid scored 46 seconds into overtime and the Edmonton Oilers held on for a wild 6-5 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday.

Evan Bouchard scored his first NHL hat trick and added three assists in his 400th regular-season contest. McDavid tallied a goal and three helpers in regulation, Zach Hyman scored and Leon Draisaitl contributed three helpers for the Oilers (26-19-8).

It was a difficult night for Edmonton netminder Connor Ingram, who 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 single shot on goal until the final minute of the first period.

The Capitals (25-21-7) rallied with Connor McMichael scoring and notching an assist, while Aliaksei Protas, Justin Sourdif, Dylan Strome and Anthony Beauvillier all got goals. Tom Wilson notched a pair of helpers and Charlie Lindgren stopped 34 of the 40 shots he faced.

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

TAKEAWAYS

Oilers: Started strong but couldn’t hold on to a lead. Washington’s first goal came just 22 seconds after Bouchard opened the scoring and the visitors levelled the score again two minutes and 37 seconds after he buried his second of the night.

Capitals: Climbed back into the game despite going down a defenceman late in the first period. Rasmus Sandin was hurt blocking a shot in the dying seconds of the opening frame and had to be helped off the ice before hopping down the tunnel to the locker room on one leg. He did not play in the second or third periods.

KEY MOMENT

Hyman collected a pass from Bouchard and put a shot in through Lindgren’s legs to level the score at 5-5 with 31.7 seconds left in the third period.

KEY STAT

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

UP NEXT

Capitals: Visit the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday.

Oilers: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Monday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 24, 2026.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press