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Edmonton Oilers' Evan Bouchard shares shocking stat after historic night

Preston Hodgkinson
Preston Hodgkinson
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Jan 25 2026, 4:53 pm
Edmonton Oilers' Evan Bouchard shares shocking stat after historic night
Perry Nelson/Imagn Images

Evan Bouchard’s historic six-point night is more meaningful than many Edmonton Oilers fans may realize.

It was a near-perfect game for the 26-year-old Bouchard. He ended his night with three goals and six points to help lead the Oilers to a 6-5 OT victory over the Washington Capitals on Saturday night.

Bouchard became the first Edmonton defenceman to net a hat trick in 20 years (Marc-Andre Bergeron in 2005-06), and also just the fourth NHL defenceman ever to net three goals and three assists in a single game.

On top of that, the Ontario native also got himself up to 55 points on the season, tying Zack Werenski and Cale Makar for the league lead among defencemen. It was an extraordinary night for Bouchard, but the most shocking stat may have been revealed after the game.

Talking to reporters, Bouchard revealed that this was his first-ever hat trick, at any level, including minor hockey and the OHL.

“Never, first one,” Bouchard told reporters. “Definitely excited [when I scored the hat trick]… Getting one early helps; confidence goes up. The way we were playing in the offensive zone helped. Helped to give me open looks, and guys put me in good spots.”

It’s a bit baffling that an offensive player like Bouchard had never experienced a hat trick until Saturday night. Sure, it’s rare to see a defenceman score three goals in a single game, but you would think he would have at least taken over a game back in his junior hockey days.

Though it’s hard to argue that getting your first one while playing in the NHL wouldn’t feel a little more special.

Lost in the shuffle of Bouchard’s historic performance was Connor McDavid putting up a five-point game of his own. After the game, the Oilers captain gushed about how important the offensive defenceman is to this team.

“It’s as good a game as I’ve seen from a d-man,” McDavid said. “His best is among the best in the world, not just d-men, players. When he gets time, it’s pretty impressive. He can shoot it hard, he can shoot it accurately, he can do just about anything with it.

“He’s killing penalties, first over the boards for penalty kills. Has to do a lot of different things, keeps getting better and better. I can’t say enough good things about the guy.”

The performance has really put a magnifying glass on Bouchard’s Team Canada Olympic roster snub. He may have had a slow start to the season, but it’s hard to argue that Bouchard is not more deserving of a spot than players like Drew Doughty and Colton Parayko.

McDavid was asked about the snub, to which he, understandably, gave a guarded answer.

“Putting me in a tough spot there,” McDavid said with a smile. “He’s a heckuva player among a lot of great Canadian defencemen. It’s a good problem to have, but I’m sure [Team Canada] management has been watching.”

While it may be too late to crack the Canadian Olympic squad, perhaps Bouchard can make a late-season run to try to be on some Norris Trophy ballots at the end of the season.

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