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MONTREAL — Evan Bouchard scored a power-play goal 2:01 into overtime, and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 on Saturday night for a franchise-record 10th consecutive victory.

Leon Draisaitl also scored for Edmonton (23-15-1), and Stuart Skinner made 23 saves. Connor McDavid picked up an assist on Bouchard’s 10th goal of the season.

“We just found ways to win games. you don’t put a streak together by just relying on one line,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said.

“When you’re winning games, you have confidence, and you don’t have to doubt yourself or feel that you have to change your game. We just have to stick with it, and we’ll win hockey games.”

Montreal (17-19-6) lost for the seventh time in nine games. Cole Caufield scored for the Canadiens, and Sam Montembeault made 39 stops.

“I’m feeling good right now and every practice has been going well,” Montembeault said. “The morning skate today was a really good one and that helps you get to the game knowing you’re ready.

“After that, I just have to stay focused, and the rest of the work comes on its own.”

Caufield put Montreal in front 1:43 into the first period with his 12th goal. Nick Suzuki spotted Caufield with a cross-seam pass, setting up a wide-open net and ending a five-game goal drought on the man advantage.

“I think we played a very smart game,” Canadiens coach Martin St Louis said. “They’re a tough team to handle with their speed and their offensive game and I think we did that pretty well.

“The guys knew that it was going to be a big undertaking on the defensive side of the game, and we did just that. We didn’t shoot ourselves in the foot and made sure our collective game was good.”

Bouchard had the Oilers’ first significant chance of the game, sending a point shot off a post three minutes into the second period.

Draisaitl tied it at 1 with his 20th of the season 38 seconds into the third. He smacked a rebound past Montembeault.

“Their goalie played great and made a lot of saves on some of our top guys, but we stuck with it, and we knew that we would find one or two,” Draisaitl said.

“It’s very mature hockey. Lots of teams are playing us hard every night and lots of credit to the group for battling through it and eventually getting wins.”

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who lost his starting job earlier this week, will not be returning to the team, he announced Thursday night.

Castellanos, who started 12 games last season and retained the top job under new coach Bill O’Brien, wrote on X that “unfortunately, all good things come to an end, even though it’s sooner than I would like.” He did not mention the transfer portal in his departing message and has not officially entered it. The junior from Waycross, Georgia, started his career at UCF and appeared in five games in 2022.

O’Brien said Tuesday that Grayson James, who replaced Castellanos in last week’s win against Syracuse, will start Saturday when Boston College visits No. 14 SMU. Castellanos “wasn’t real thrilled” with the decision, O’Brien said, adding that the quarterback decided to step away from the team for several days.

Castellanos had 2,248 passing yards and 1,113 rushing yards last season under coach Jeff Hafley, passing for 15 touchdowns and adding 13 on the ground. He had 18 touchdown passes and only five interceptions this season, but his accuracy dipped in recent weeks, and he completed only 2 of 7 passes against Syracuse before being replaced.

In his statement, Castellanos thanked both coaching staffs he played for at Boston College and wrote that he had “some of the best experiences of my life in the Eagles Nest and I will truly cherish these memories forever.”

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Gators’ Lagway ‘ready to play,’ will start vs. LSU

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Gators' Lagway 'ready to play,' will start vs. LSU

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is “ready to play,” coach Billy Napier said Thursday on his weekly radio show.

Napier removed Lagway from the team’s injury report and penciled him in to start against No. 21 LSU in the Swamp on Saturday.

Lagway practiced every day this week while progressing from a strained left hamstring. The highly touted freshman was carted off the field against Georgia on Nov. 2. Tests revealed a “less significant” injury than initially feared, and now he’s back in time to face the Tigers.

The Gators (4-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) need him. They have to win two of their final three regular-season games to become bowl eligible.

LSU (6-3, 3-2) has struggled mightily against dual-threat QBs, including Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns last week.

Lagway returns after walk-on and Yale transfer Aidan Warner started in his place against Texas. Warner threw two interceptions and was 12-of-25 passing for 132 yards in a 49-17 loss.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Georgia leading rusher Etienne ruled out vs. Vols

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Georgia leading rusher Etienne ruled out vs. Vols

No. 12 Georgia will be without leading rusher Trevor Etienne for Saturday’s showdown against No. 7 Tennessee.

Etienne was downgraded from questionable to out on Thursday night’s SEC availability report.

Etienne left Georgia’s win over Florida with an upper-body injury on Nov. 2 and did not return. He played limited snaps in last week’s 28-10 loss at Ole Miss, carrying the ball six times for 24 yards.

Etienne leads the Bulldogs with 477 rushing yards and seven touchdowns this season.

The loss is another blow to Georgia’s banged-up backfield. Cash Jones is also listed as questionable while Branson Robinson remains out after missing the past three games with a knee injury.

That leaves true freshman Nate Frazier as the only healthy Bulldogs running back who has played meaningful snaps this year. Frazier is second on the team with 333 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

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