Oilers’ Bouchard has nightmare night in loss to Islanders

ELMONT, N.Y. — The Edmonton Oilers took the train to their game on Long Island. The train wreck came later, in the form of their No. 1 defenceman’s performance.

Evan Bouchard had perhaps the worst night of his NHL career Thursday, and everyone on both sides knew it.

“Evan is one of best defencemen in the NHL, but tonight was not his night,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch.

“I’m sure he knows that he could’ve made some other decisions tonight,” admitted defensive partner Mattias Ekholm.

In a game his team still may not have won had Bouchard’s game been more sound, the Oilers just could not recover from two breakaway goals that Bouchard was solely responsible for in a 4-2 loss to the New York Islanders.

One was an egregious giveaway to Matt Barzal when Bouchard was the last man back, the other when he let Bo Horvat get behind him on the power play for an Islanders short-handed goal. In between were several other gaffes, on a night where their highest paid defender was costly in other ways.

In an interview in training camp, Bouchard told me (and we paraphrase) that he had to find a way to make his worst nights better than they’ve been over past seasons.

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“Your standard has still got to stay the same,” he said. “They’re not all going to be good (games). And when you’re not feeling the best, you’ve got to find a way to get away with it.”

After Thursday’s debacle, he acknowledged that there is still work to do on that front.

“When it’s not going my way, I’ve got to find a way to make different plays,” Bouchard said post-game.

Give him credit: It’s not easy to face the media after a night like that, but Bouchard stood in there until the last question was asked.

Entering the game with an 0-3 record, the Islanders were undoubtedly hungrier for this win than Edmonton, which skated out of Madison Square Garden on Tuesday with a 2-0 victory despite being outplayed by the Rangers. Horvat had a hat trick, with a power-play goal, a shorty, and an even-strength empty-netter to seal the deal.

With the game tied 2-2, Trent Frederic took a careless high-sticking penalty that opened the door for Horvat’s power-play winner. It was not Frederic’s finest hour, to be sure, and cost his team the game in his own right.

“In the offensive zone, high sticking,” said Knoblauch. “All penalties are tough, but that one was especially tough.”

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But it was Bouchard who will wear the goat horns after this game, a night that featured giveaway after giveaway.

“I know people can be hard on him for the mistakes, but you’ve also got to look at the upside of what he brings,” said a supportive Ekholm. “I’d be careful criticizing him because that’s who he is, and obviously he knows that he would want (that game) back.

“There’s going to be mistakes, (but) Evan’s super power is he forgets quick and he just goes out there and plays his game. I’m pretty sure we’ll see a different Bouchard on Saturday.”

You only have to look at the last three playoff seasons to see Bouchard’s super power. He leads all defencemen with 72 points, more than double what second-place Miro Heiskanen has produced (32 points).

Games like this one, however, are something Bouchard simply can not seem to outgrow — and will extinguish any hopes he may have had of making Team Canada’s Olympic roster in February.

Tampa Bay Lightning GM Julien BriseBois, an assistant GM for Team Canada, was at Thursday’s game, and got an eyeful. A performance like that — when the entire hockey world knows why Bouchard wasn’t given a look for the 4 Nations team — will cripple his chances of being in Milan.

Can Knoblauch simply shrug off the giveaways as being part of the Bouchard package?

“We cannot just accept that,” the coach said. “Mistakes happen, but you have to address what types of mistakes are happening.

“Evan’s a fantastic player, one of the best in the league, certainly one of the best defencemen in the NHL. Tonight was not his night, but I’ve always seen him respond and play much better after games like this.”

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Ekholm agreed, predicting a much cleaner game from Bouchard on Saturday in Newark, N.J.

“Eighty-two games, you’re not going to be perfect every night. I don’t look too deep into it,” Ekholm said. “I think that’s more maybe a thing that you (media) guys look at, and rightfully so. But I’m sure he’ll be back with force and vengeance on Saturday.”

As for Bouchard, he’s thankful for the support from his teammates on a night like this.

“They kind of say, ‘Keep making plays.’ It’s kind of what I do,” he said. “When it’s not going my way, I’ve got to find a way to obviously make different plays.”

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