Bouchard bounces back, but Oilers know they need to get better

The pitchforks have been out this season for Evan Bouchard.

The mistakes have mounted, and it all came to a head Thursday night against the New York Rangers. After the loss in which Bouchard’s play cost them, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch was blunt: “If there’s accumulation of mistakes that are costing us regularly, then yes, we need to hold everyone accountable.”

Open to benching Bouchard, he didn’t follow through, and it paid off for the Oilers, as he would score the overtime game-winning goal Saturday night against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks.

“I mean, isn’t that the most boosh thing ever? Just stand in there like he does, you know,” said Oilers captain Connor McDavid of Bouchard facing the media after the Rangers game. “You guys can say what you want about him. We love him in there. We know his best is among the very, very, very best.

“We got his back no matter what’s going on. So, you know, his play can be better. Everyone’s play can be better. But really happy for him to get that big goal and quiet some people a little bit.

Bouchard’s goal wasn’t the only point he had, notching an assist on Jack Roslovic’s second-period power-play goal. The game as a whole, though, emulated what everybody knows about Bouchard. When he’s on, he’s on, but when he’s off, he’s off.

But that’s also emblematic of the Oilers as a whole, and despite moving to 6-4-3 on the year with the win, they’re not happy with where their game is at.

“We’re finding ways to get points. It hasn’t been very pretty, you know, but it’s October hockey,” said McDavid. “It’s a bit scrambly, a bit emotionless at times. We gotta find a way to bring some emotion into the game, get ourselves going a little bit during some of those lulls.

“But we’re finding ways to put points on the board and that’s what it’s all about. Not off to the best start of our lives, but not after the worst start either. So we’re hanging in there right now.”

Things aren’t going to get easier for the Oilers in terms of their schedule, either. They have a two-game road trip Monday and Tuesday that will see them visit the St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars, before a three day break. Next Saturday and the following Monday will see them host the Colorado Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets, but then the going gets tough.

They’ll embark on a seven game, 10-day beginning November 12th that will take them up and down the Eastern seaboard.

“We’re not playing our best hockey and we knew at the beginning of the season it’s going to take a while to build this and get our identity,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch. “That stretch is going to be really difficult.

“We’ve got a lot of change at the beginning of the season with the players that we got coming in. We’re trying to settle things out and put lines together, (have) everyone understanding what our systems are and then playing the way we know we can. So, you know, it’s a long process and hopefully we’re trending in the right way.”