After a sluggish October that saw him produce three assists five-on-five and get outscored 11-5, Bouchard has cranked up his play, and he’s been excellent in November. Through 12 games this month, he’s produced 1-8-9 at five-on-five, and with him on the ice, Edmonton has outscored opponents 15-7 and outshot them 122-82.

He has been the Oilers’ best player this month, and if his strong play continues, the Oilers’ ascent up the Western Conference standings will be much easier.

Bouchard has 13 points in 12 games, which is tied for second most among NHL defenders, and he’s +9, including going +7 at five-on-five.

“The last handful of games he has played as well as I’ve ever seen him play,” said Kris Knoblach. “He had three points in Florida, and the first two goals he made tremendous plays to set those up.

“Defensively, he’s been physical, separating the opposition from the puck and making those plays. Yes, Evan got off to a slow start, but this month he could easily be our top player, and this last week he’s even taken it (his play) to another level. What I’m seeing from Evan right now and the way he’s played is very familiar with what I’ve seen in the previous two playoffs.”

Bouchard’s ceiling is higher than most NHL defenders. He’s exceptional offensively, but he’s really improved his defensive play over the past few seasons. He uses his length and reach to his advantage to break up plays. He’s incredibly smart, and he’s emerged as an excellent penalty killer. He’s played the most minutes on the PK this month (26:28) and he’s been on for three goals against. He’s a key reason the Oilers’ PK has been respectable this season.

Bouchard’s defensive improvements and his defensive reads get overlooked due to his offensive abilities. Yes, he will make the odd head-scratching giveaway, but he completes infinitely more passes, and I can’t recall a bad giveaway this month. He’s elevated his game when the Oilers needed it most. They struggled through October, and while they are only 5-5-2 in November, I have no doubt they’d be worse off if Bouchard hadn’t played this well.

Bouchard and a few others, like Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Jack Roslovic, have played quite well, but I’d argue in all facets of the game Bouchard has been their best player. He’s producing, he’s defending, he’s killing penalties and he’s eliminated the glaring giveaway. He handles the puck often enough that I’m sure he will have the odd errant pass in the coming weeks, all the puck movers do, but his overall play can’t be ignored.

He’s playing great, and as more players find their strides, combined with a less hectic schedule, it is likely the Oilers will see their win column increase.

SNAPSHOTS…

— A big discussion online among many Oilers fans is that the Oilers changed their system and that is why they are struggling. Yesterday, Kris Knoblauch outlined that there hasn’t been any changes.

“We have been playing the exact same systems (five-on-five) as we have the previous two years, and we have talked about how things will work out or turn around, but it has got to the point where things haven’t turned around 20+ games into the season, and now we are starting to alter some things. Today we adjusted one thing. It is hard, because we have had so much success going to the Stanley Cup Final twice, we didn’t want to change anything, but now we are playing like we have, for as long as we have, we have to start thinking things won’t just work themselves out, we need to make some adjustments. Whether that is moving guys around, or changing our system and we are starting to do that.”

Today, I asked Adam Henrique about the stretch passes, which some fans/pundits feel is a result of a systemic change.

“The stretch pass isn’t typically a set play,” said Henrique. “The odd time it is, but usually not. Sometimes I feel you hit the stretch guy and he is by himself, and I find a lot of times that is often off of a line change and you are trying to play fast, and get right back in the O-zone instead of setting up behind the net, and taking our time to come back up the ice. We haven’t changed much at all overall, it’s just that sometimes when it isn’t going your way it looks like things have changed. We just need to make more correct plays, and I think we have started to the past few games.”

— I asked Mattias Ekholm the following. “Your coach said you haven’t made any systemic changes five-on-five, so what do you feel has been missing from the group defensively that’s led to more goals against and more quality chances against than you gave up last season?”

“Great question. I think you got to somewhat have some respect for the amount of hockey we’ve played in the last two years as well. I mean, you look at Florida, they’re not the same as they were in the playoffs. I’m sure they will be, though, a few months from now. So that’s just the nature of it. You got to make sure you stay in it (playoff race). And obviously don’t give yourself too big of a hole, but it is hard to mentally reset after playing that much hockey. So I think that’s the biggest factor for me. And it comes down to, obviously, making sure you at least give enough to give yourself a chance. And I think that there’s been a realization in here now that it’s been almost 25 games, so we have to try to turn the thing to a winning record. But I do think the mental part is a big one.”

— I understand some don’t want to hear that. They want to be able to find a clear culprit — the coach, a goalie, the D-men or forwards, or the system. But the truth is the five-on-five system hasn’t changed, the players just aren’t executing it as well. Knoblauch outlined why he was hesitant to change it, because they’ve had two years of success with it. That makes sense. Fans and media can be impatient, but a coach has to find the right balance between patience and change. For the most part, Knoblauch has opted for patience and has stated he’s trying not to overcoach. However, they will be making one tactical change tonight.

— The Oilers have used the wedge formation (when defending) in the neutral zone so far, where players were a bit more stationary in the neutral zone, but tonight look for them to attack and be skating more in the neutral zone. They want to protect the middle of the ice, when the Stars are coming up ice, and force them into the ditch (what I call the area from the faceoff dots to the boards). That is the change from what they did in the first 24 games.

— The Oilers need to be aware of Jason Robertson. Robertson has goals in six consecutive games and he has 10 goals and 14 points in those games. He’s on fire. He’s pushing hard to make USA’s Olympic team.

— Dallas’ PP is ranked 2nd at 29.3% with 22 goals on 75 attempts. Mikko Rantanen leads the NHL with 15 power play points, but he is sitting out his one-game suspension tonight. Rantanen also leads the NHL in penalty minutes with 57, due to his recent two five-minute majors and subsequent game misconducts (10 min each).

— The Oilers’ PP is ranked third at 28.8% with 17 goals on 59 kills. Edmonton needs to use its speed more and force opponents to take penalties. Colorado leads the NHL with 83 PP attempts and they’ve played two fewer games than the Oilers.

LINEUPS…

Oilers…

Savoie – McDavid – Roslovic
Podkolzin – Draisaitl – Mangiapane
Frederic – Henrique – Hyman
Clattenberg– Tomášek – Janmark

Ekholm – Bouchard
Nurse – Regula
Kulak – Emberson

Skinner

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Kasperi Kapanen are close, but they will get four more days rest, and likely return to the lineup Saturday in Seattle. The players know they are close, and competition for icetime and opportunity will intensify when they return. Jake Walman didn’t skate again today after blocking a shot in Tampa Bay, and his return is more up in the air. You might not see him until next Tuesday at the earliest.

Stars…

Robertson-Hintz-Seguin
Benn-Johnston-Steel
Back-Hryckowian-Bourque
Blackwell-Faksa-Bastian

Lindell-Heiskanen
Capobianco-Kolyachonok
Bichsel-Petrovic

Oettinger

The Stars are missing three of their top-six defenders in Thomas Harley, Ilya Lyubushkin and Nils Lundkvist. Matt Duchene is still injured while Rantanen is out. But the Stars are 6-1-1 in their last eight and have outscored teams 30-15. The Oilers can’t have a sleepy “first-game-back-from-long-roadtrip” type of performance.