The Edmonton Oilers slayed their demons with a 7-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild last night, but all the attention was on Evan Bouchard after the final horn.
On a night that should have been a happy one all-around for Oilers fans, a play late in the third period caused Bouchard to be hit into the post and go hobbling off to the bench. On replay, it was Wild forward Ryan Hartman who prematurely nudged Bouchard into his net while they were battling to receive a puck in the Edmonton end.
Sportsnet showed Bouchard on the bench directly after the play and he appeared to be in a lot of pain before eventually heading down the tunnel. Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch did not have much of an update on Bouchard’s status directly after the game.
“We’re gonna fly home, get it checked out,” Knoblauch told reporters. “Hopefully, it’s something minor, but we probably won’t be able to find out until [Friday].”
Bouchard was in a lot of pain on the bench after this play… losing him would be a massive blow to this team
Should know more about his condition tomorrow…
— Preston Hodgkinson (@NHLHodgkinson) December 13, 2024
It’s far too early to speculate on what specific kind of injury Bouchard suffered on the play, but by the way he hobbled off the ice, it’s safe to say that it’s something in the lower body that was hurt. Maybe when he slammed into the end boards at the end of the play.
Bouchard was having a great game for the Oilers having picked up two assists on the way to the win. At the time of the injury, the Oilers were leading 6-1 with just three minutes to go in regulation. Given that the game was practically done and over with at the time, it’s unfortunate that a play like this happened at all.
Losing Bouchard for any amount of time will be a massive blow for this Oilers team. He has consistently been the team’s top RHD all season long and leads all Edmonton defencemen with six goals and 22 points. The depth on that right side isn’t particularly strong with Troy Stecher and Troy Emberson typically playing behind him on the second and third pair respectively.
Brett Kulak does pinch-hit on that second pair on occasion as well. Perhaps this will be an opportunity for waiver claim Alec Regula to make an impression with his new team.
As mentioned, an update on Bouchard is expected to come at some point today or tomorrow. Oil Country will be holding its breath and hoping for the best as the team is right back in action tomorrow afternoon against the Vegas Golden Knights.