Bouchard proving he can be elite for Edmonton Oilers without Ekholm
Evan Bouchard is quickly proving to Edmonton Oilers fans that he is an elite option on the back end regardless of who he plays with.
Bouchard has mainly found himself on a pairing with Mattias Ekholm ever since the latter was acquired at the 2023 trade deadline from the Nashville Predators. It’s a truly elite pairing, as Bouchard is as gifted as they come offensively while Ekholm is one of the game’s best at shutting things down.
While seemingly everybody agrees that Ekholm is one of the better defencemen in the game, however, there have been many who believed that Bouchard’s success came in large part due to being paired with the Swedish blueliner. Through the opening two rounds of the playoffs, that opinion is being erased.
Ekholm has yet to suit up in the playoffs due to an undisclosed injury, and aside from a rough two games versus the LA Kings, Bouchard has been excellent.
Not only is the 25-year-old contributing offensively with four goals and 12 points through 11 games, but his defensive play, particularly versus the Vegas Golden Knights, was as good as we’ve seen from him.
Natural Stat Trick
As Natural Stat Trick shows, not only has Bouchard played the most minutes of any Oilers defenceman in the playoffs, but he’s sitting with the best corsi of the group at 58.21. When he’s on the ice, the Oilers have recorded 124 shots while giving up just 91.
“He’s a smart hockey player,” head coach Kris Knoblauch said. “I think sometimes he gets unfairly criticized for mistakes he makes. Everybody makes mistakes, but boy, does he make a lot of good plays. He makes a lot of great breakout passes that lead to goals, rather than going off the glass and out.
“As for the defensive play, I think with our team, the intensity and focus, and what rides on every shift, I think he’s dialled in right now. He knows the importance of playoff hockey, and he’s bringing his best. We’ve been asking a lot out of him throughout the playoffs, and we’ve been asking him to be one of our top-four penalty killers.”
As mentioned by Knoblauch, Bouchard has averaged 1:28 minutes per game on the penalty kill, a sure sign that the defensive side of his game is evolving.
Knoblauch will continue to rely on his top defenceman heavily as he and the Oilers look to win the Western Conference Final and get back to the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight year.
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