It’s Time Oilers Send a Stern Message to Evan Bouchard

His defensive struggles were evident as he ended the game with a minus-3 rating, directly contributing to the disastrously bad third period. Edmonton lost the lead and allowed five goals against in the final frame, raising concerns about their ability to protect their lead effectively. Bouchard’s performance, tallying three points despite being the weakest link on the ice, is almost comical. The level of accountability needs to be leveled up. Woodcroft needs to start dropping the hammer on a few players, Bouchard likely the first.

He excels on the power play, so using him there is probably still wise. That said, there’s a clear need to restrict his 5v5 ice time to mitigate his shortcomings during regular play. Even if some see that as rewarding a player with gravy minutes, it first needs to be about winning. Second comes teaching a valuable lesson. Hopefully, both can happen at the same time.

It’s time for head coach Jay Woodcroft to send that message.

Bouchard Will Figure It Out Quickly

This is too good a player not to be recognizing the bad situations he’s putting himself into regularly. His misreads are killing the team and giving opposing teams momentum when the Oilers are ready to finally put the game away. He’s pinching at the wrong time, he’s not recognizing people are behind him, and he’s not being strong enough on the puck or in lifting sticks to stop the action.

At the same time, this is a player who was incredible down the stretch for Edmonton last season. After Mattias Ekholm was acquired, Bouchard was night-and-day different in his game play than what he’s shown through six games this season. He’s in a defensive rut. It shouldn’t last and a quick wakeup call might be all it takes.