Oilers: Evan Bouchard had a confidence boosting preseason game

The Edmonton Oilers won a great preseason game yesterday against the Calgary Flames. One player that stood out, in particular, was Evan Bouchard.

Evan Bouchard did not score any goals to start the preseason with the Edmonton Oilers, and he did not even register a point. But one big question going into this season was whether or not Bouchard was going to be able to step into the lineup and be an NHL defenceman that can hold his own in the lineup. Yesterday helped to eliminate that stress.

Bouchard played a little over 22 minutes last night, of those 22 minutes over six of them were spent on the power play. The team utilized him as the power-play quarterback last night and while it did not pay off for him with any points, it was a good performance as he registered six shots and helped create offence all night.

The Oilers dominated the Flames in puck possession last night, and one of the main contributors to that was Bouchard. Every team needs good defencemen in the defensive zone helping to cycle the puck up ice and create chances.

Considering he was on the ice for two goals, Bouchard did do his part to help create offencively. As these preseasons games continue to move on, Bouchard will continue to get a lot of icetime in the preseason.

Ken Holland and Dave Tippett know what they are going to get from Nurse Barrie, and Keith, Bouchard is the one they are hoping can be even better than expectations suggest, and last night was a great indication that the future could be bright for him in Edmonton, now all he has to do is show up throughout the rest of the preseason.

The next opponent is the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday and I am excited to see how the Oilers and Bouchard respond to Seattle. The Kraken beat the Canucks 5 to 3 yesterday, and while that is not an indication that they are a dominant juggernaut on offence, it did show they can score goals. Edmonton hopefully can continue to let their defence lead the charge to another shutout!

Bouchard was good, and let’s hope he can be even better the next time the team takes the ice!