Evan Bouchard has few bigger supporters in the City of Edmonton than this scribe.

Right-shot offensive defencemen who excel at moving the puck up the ice, commanding power plays and walking the blue line are few and far between. It&#8217;s why they&#8217;re among the highest-paid players in the league.
But every player has their kryptonite, and Bouchard&#8217;s was on full display Saturday night as the Edmonton Oilers took on the Toronto Maple Leafs. Two mistakes off his stick within a minute that wound up in Edmonton&#8217;s net would eventually cost the Oilers, who <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2024/11/16/gbd-18-0-oilers-look-to-extend-winning-streak-over-the-matthews-less-maple-leafs-5pm-mt-cbc/">fell 4-3 in overtime</a>.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
here’s a look at the matthew knies and bobby mcmann goals that let the leafs take a 3-2 lead. <a href="https://t.co/FAsYC9CexQ">pic.twitter.com/FAsYC9CexQ</a>
&mdash; zach (@zjlaing) <a href="https://twitter.com/zjlaing/status/1857980461722776004?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Oilers had a 2-1 lead with just over seven minutes left in the third period, fending off the Maple Leafs&#8217; push.
As the 6&#8217;s turned to 7&#8217;s on the remaining clock, Bouchard grabbed a loose puck at the side of the Oilers net, turning and hoping to find Jeff Skinner with a long, cross-ice stretch pass. The only problem? Bouchard&#8217;s pass hit Connor McDavid, who was no more than 10 feet from him at the time, touching right to Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies. As quick as it was off his stick, it was past Stuart Skinner.
A minute later, Bouchard dumped the puck into the offensive zone, but another bouncing puck ricocheted off the wall past him — that happens. But what can&#8217;t is the lackadaisical back check, only for him to turn around up the ice quickly after Bobby McMann scored the go-ahead goal.
Offensive defencemen are going to find themselves in positions like on the first goal and they&#8217;re more prone to mistakes with the puck. It&#8217;s a part of the game, and a part of being someone who is trying to make plays. All can be forgiven on McMann&#8217;s goal if he gives a few hard strides before the goal is scored.
None of this is to say that another player gets absolved here, as Stuart Skinner needs to find a way to make a save on one of these goals. Less than ideal positions on each, sure, but too often has he been unable to find these kinds of saves this season. Saturday marked his eighth of 12 starts where he had a save percentage of .900 or worse.
The messaging around the mistakes from Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch was nonsensical, too.
&#8220;First ten minutes, I thought we were doing really well defending it,&#8221; said Knoblauch of his team holding a lead in the third period. &#8220;A couple mistakes weren&#8217;t even scoring chances they generated, it was mistakes on our behalf. one, loose puck that&#8217;s chased down, and another ones a pass that goes off our player&#8217;s backend, and stays in the slot. Those two plays are just unfortunate.&#8221;
Unfortunate is one way to put it.
Even amid these bone-headed blunders, Bouchard&#8217;s 2.24 goals against per hour of ice-time is the third-best rate among Oilers defencemen, trailing just Darnell Nurse — who left Saturday&#8217;s game after a <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2024/11/16/you-know-when-a-guy-in-vulnerable-oilers-players-react-to-ryan-reaves-hit-on-darnell-nurse/">vicious headshot from Ryan Reaves</a> — and Troy Stecher. Bouchard isn&#8217;t as bad defensively as these mistakes, and he, much like the rest of the team, get better as the season progresses.
That doesn&#8217;t stop any of the frustrations now, though.
Edmonton&#8217;s eastern road trip continues Monday night against the Montreal Canadiens for a 5:00 p.m. MST puckdrop, followed by another 24 hours later against the Ottawa Senators.
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Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist, making up one-half of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff/streams">DFO DFS Report</a>. He can be followed on Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zjlaing">@zjlaing</a>, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.
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Evan Bouchard has few bigger supporters in the City of Edmonton than this scribe.



Right-shot offensive defencemen who excel at moving the puck up the ice, commanding power plays and walking the blue line are few and far between. It's why they're among the highest-paid players in the league.

But every player has their kryptonite, and Bouchard's was on full display Saturday night as the Edmonton Oilers took on the Toronto Maple Leafs. Two mistakes off his stick within a minute that wound up in Edmonton's net would eventually cost the Oilers, who <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2024/11/16/gbd-18-0-oilers-look-to-extend-winning-streak-over-the-matthews-less-maple-leafs-5pm-mt-cbc/">fell 4-3 in overtime</a>.
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https://twitter.com/zjlaing/status/1857980461722776004

The Oilers had a 2-1 lead with just over seven minutes left in the third period, fending off the Maple Leafs' push.

As the 6's turned to 7's on the remaining clock, Bouchard grabbed a loose puck at the side of the Oilers net, turning and hoping to find Jeff Skinner with a long, cross-ice stretch pass. The only problem? Bouchard's pass hit Connor McDavid, who was no more than 10 feet from him at the time, touching right to Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies. As quick as it was off his stick, it was past Stuart Skinner.

A minute later, Bouchard dumped the puck into the offensive zone, but another bouncing puck ricocheted off the wall past him — that happens. But what can't is the lackadaisical back check, only for him to turn around up the ice quickly after Bobby McMann scored the go-ahead goal.

Offensive defencemen are going to find themselves in positions like on the first goal and they're more prone to mistakes with the puck. It's a part of the game, and a part of being someone who is trying to make plays. All can be forgiven on McMann's goal if he gives a few hard strides before the goal is scored.

None of this is to say that another player gets absolved here, as Stuart Skinner needs to find a way to make a save on one of these goals. Less than ideal positions on each, sure, but too often has he been unable to find these kinds of saves this season. Saturday marked his eighth of 12 starts where he had a save percentage of .900 or worse.

The messaging around the mistakes from Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch was nonsensical, too.

"First ten minutes, I thought we were doing really well defending it," said Knoblauch of his team holding a lead in the third period. "A couple mistakes weren't even scoring chances they generated, it was mistakes on our behalf. one, loose puck that's chased down, and another ones a pass that goes off our player's backend, and stays in the slot. Those two plays are just unfortunate."

Unfortunate is one way to put it.

Even amid these bone-headed blunders, Bouchard's 2.24 goals against per hour of ice-time is the third-best rate among Oilers defencemen, trailing just Darnell Nurse — who left Saturday's game after a <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2024/11/16/you-know-when-a-guy-in-vulnerable-oilers-players-react-to-ryan-reaves-hit-on-darnell-nurse/">vicious headshot from Ryan Reaves</a> — and Troy Stecher. Bouchard isn't as bad defensively as these mistakes, and he, much like the rest of the team, get better as the season progresses.

That doesn't stop any of the frustrations now, though.

Edmonton's eastern road trip continues Monday night against the Montreal Canadiens for a 5:00 p.m. MST puckdrop, followed by another 24 hours later against the Ottawa Senators.

<hr />

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist, making up one-half of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff/streams">DFO DFS Report</a>. He can be followed on Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zjlaing">@zjlaing</a>, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.

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