It's a love-hate relationship for Edmonton Oilers fans and Evan Bouchard. Bouchard is one of the top offensive talents in the league, but there are times when he makes the fans and Oilers' head coach Kris Knoblauch pull their hair out. For every few great offensive plays Bouchard makes, it seems he counters them with a costly turnover or a lack of effort on the defensive end.
It reached a breaking point on Thursday against the New York Islanders when Bouchard was at fault for a couple of brutal goals against in the 4-2 loss. People started to pile on the star defenseman on social media, and Knoblauch landed the final blow post-game when speaking with reporters.
“We cannot just accept that,” Knoblauch 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 defensemen in the NHL. Tonight was not his night, but I've always seen him respond and play much better after games like this.”
Knoblauch did give Bouchard some compliments after the callout. However, it's still not something the defenseman wants to be associated with, given it was about his ability to shake off mistakes.
“I usually see him bounce back immediately after a bad shift, maybe a turnover, and it doesn't faze him, and he makes the next play the next time,” Knoblauch said. “But we're going to move on from it. We can't dwell on it too much. We’ve got to learn from things that happened. Evan's one of our best players, and we've got to have him playing as one of our best.”
The head coach hopes that the callout will serve as a wake-up call before their game against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday afternoon. In the past, Evan Bouchard's best games have often followed a poor effort, making his match-up against the Devils on Saturday afternoon a must-watch.
