McDavid has 2 goals and assist as Oilers beat Rangers 6-2

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Connor McDavid had two goals and an assist as the Edmonton Oilers beat the New York Rangers 6-2 on Saturday night.

Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard each had a goal and an assist, and Vasily Podkolzin and Darnell Nurse also scored to help the Oilers win for the second time in five games (2-2-1) after a three-game win streak. Mattias Janmark and Connor Brown each had two assists and Stuart Skinner had 33 saves.

Artemi Panarin had two goals for the Rangers, who have lost two straight after opening a four-game road trip with two wins. Jonathan Quick had 34 saves.

Rangers: Quick came in 25-12-6 with a 2.18 goals-against average and .921 save percentage in his career against the Oilers. The 38-year-old stopped 18 shots in the first period before giving up two goals over the final 3 minutes of the opening period.

Oilers: Podkolzin, who was all over opposing teams' nets in recent games, beat Quick with 2:26 to play in the first. It was the 23-year-old Russian’s first goal with the Oilers and first since March 2023 — a span of 42 regular season games.

With 8 seconds remaining in the opening period, Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse scored short-handed to give Edmonton a 2-0 lead. It was Nurse’s first game back in the lineup after a check to his head by Toronto’s Ryan Reaves a week earlier. Nurse pointed to his head after his goal, which was the sixth short-handed of his career — tied for first among active defensemen with Vancouver’s Tyler Myers.

The Oilers improved to 7-2-1 in their last 10 meetings with the Rangers. Edmonton has scored four or more goals in seven of its last nine contests against New York.

Rangers host St. Louis on Monday, and Oilers visit Utah on Friday.

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

Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner (74) puts his mask on before taking on the New York Rangers during first period NHL action in Edmonton on Saturday, November 23, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

New York Rangers' Mika Zibanejad (93) and Edmonton Oilers' Brett Kulak (27) battle for the puck during first period NHL action in Edmonton on Saturday, November 23, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers' Brett Kulak (27), Vasily Podkolzin (92) and Ty Emberson (49) celebrate a goal against the New York Rangers during first period NHL action in Edmonton on Saturday, November 23, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers' Darnell Nurse (25) celebrates a goal against the New York Rangers during first period NHL action in Edmonton on Saturday, November 23, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

New York Rangers' Artemi Panarin (10) celebrates a goal against the Edmonton Oilers during second period NHL action in Edmonton on Saturday, November 23, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

New York Rangers' goalie Jonathan Quick (32) looks to the big screen after being scored on by the Edmonton Oilers during second period NHL action in Edmonton on Saturday, November 23, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl (29) celebrates a goal against the New York Rangers during second period NHL action in Edmonton on Saturday, November 23, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

New York Rangers' Jacob Trouba (8) chases Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl (29) during second period NHL action in Edmonton on Saturday, November 23, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

New York Rangers' goalie Jonathan Quick (32) is scored on as Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid (97) watches the puck go in the net during second period NHL action in Edmonton on Saturday, November 23, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

New York Rangers' Jacob Trouba (8) tries to defend against Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid (97) during second period NHL action in Edmonton on Saturday, November 23, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers' Adam Henrique (19), Evan Bouchard (2), Mattias Janmark (13) and Mattias Ekholm (14) celebrate a goal against the New York Rangers during second period NHL action in Edmonton on Saturday, November 23, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers' Troy Stecher (51) and Connor McDavid (97) celebrate a goal against the New York Rangers during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Edmonton, Alberta, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Auburn fans finally had a big win to celebrate. Texas A&M, and perhaps the Southeastern Conference, not so much.

Payton Thorne hit KeAndre Lambert-Smith for a two-point play in the fourth overtime to lift the Tigers to a 43-41 victory over No. 15 Texas A&M on Saturday night, capping a brutal day for SEC playoff contenders.

The Tigers (5-6, 2-5 SEC) became the day’s latest unranked league team to play spoiler. Fans who have endured a disappointing season stormed the field and filled it from end zone to end zone but did leave the goalposts alone.

“It’s been that kind of year where you just battle through and you fight through and you keep climbing cliffs,” said Auburn coach Hugh Freeze, who had taken plenty of heat in his second season. “Our locker room has continued to fight and no matter what people say, they just have chosen to say we’re going to fight to the finish.”

That's certainly what it took this time.

With the teams both getting one play to score from the 3, Texas A&M turned to trickery on its attempt to send it to a fifth OT. Receiver Terry Bussey took the direct snap and handed off to quarterback Marcel Reed. Reed's pass to Amari Daniels was dropped in the end zone.

The Aggies (8-3, 5-2), who had rallied from a 21-0 first-half deficit, suffered the fate of two other SEC playoff hopefuls. Florida had already upended No. 9 Mississippi’s playoff and SEC title hopes with a 24-17 upset, and No. 7 Alabama fell 24-3 at Oklahoma.

The Aggies are still alive in a bid for their first SEC championship but are heading into a game with rival No. 3 Texas.

“This one's certainly going to hurt, and we're obviously extremely disappointed,” Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said. “We had ourselves in a really good position. Obviously with who we play and what we're playing for, there's still going to be a lot of energy going into that stadium next week.”

Thorne passed for 301 yards and two touchdowns to Cam Coleman. Jarquez Hunter ran 28 times for 130 yards and three scores. Coleman had seven catches for 128 yards, and Lambert-Smith had two for 104.

“My emotions are kind of tough to put into words right now," Thorne said. “I am still kind of riding that high. It was great. I did not know if they were going to storm the field or not, and I turned around and some fan was smacking me in the head. That is when I was like, “Whoa, this is pretty sweet.” It was awesome.”

Reed passed for 297 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 66 yards. Daniels rushed 27 times for 90 yards and a score.

Auburn and Texas A&M traded touchdowns in the first overtime and field goals in the second. Both teams had incompletions on two-point conversions from the 3-yard line in OT No. 3.

Then there was the two-point play that proved the difference.

“We have run that play since I’ve been here, since the summer,” said Lambert-Smith, a Penn State transfer. “We hit it every day in practice against the defense. I was lowkey pitching for them to call it."

Auburn forced overtime with Ian Vachon's 29-yard field goal with five seconds left. The 15-play drive was stalled by two false start penalties after first-and-goal. Vachon is a walk-on who got the starting job with Alex McPherson battling an illness and freshman Towns McGough struggling.

He had come to Auburn after spending two years at Birmingham-Southern before the school shut down.

“We get him out of the classroom and here we are with a guy hitting some really critical kicks for us,” Freeze said.

Texas A&M: The Aggies gained 296 yards after halftime.

Auburn: Got the biggest win of coach Freeze's second season. Auburn had blown double-digit leads in the second half against both Oklahoma and Missouri.

Texas A&M hosts No. 3 Texas on Saturday, and Auburn is at No. 7 Alabama that same day.

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Auburn wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith (5) catches a pass over Texas A&M defensive back Dezz Ricks (10) during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)