Fresh off praise from Paul Coffey, Oilers’ Evan Bouchard turns on clutch mode in Game 5 |
Before the Edmonton Oilers faced the Anaheim Ducks in Game 5, with the Oilers on the brink of elimination, Sportsnet aired a segment featuring former Oiler Luke Gazdic having a chat with Evan Bouchard and Paul Coffey, two of the most gifted offensive defencemen in franchise history.
Coffey talked about his first road trip, coaching the team and sitting down with the young defenceman, Bouchard, in a heart-to-heart manner and saying, “Bouch, you remind me a little bit of myself. As long as the good outweighs the bad, we’re going to be ok here.”
The three-time Norris Trophy winner also said, “[There are] a lot of great defencemen in the league, but when the game is on the line, and we need something done, we look no further than [Bouchard].”
Bouchard has a history of coming up clutch in the playoffs
It’s no secret that Bouchard plays some high-event hockey, with the occasional Bouchard blunder creeping into his play every few games, but one thing is for sure — Bouchard comes up clutch when the stakes are at their highest.
In the second round of the 2024 playoffs, the Oilers were down 2-1 in the series versus the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks tied the game 2-2 with less than two minutes remaining in Game 4, and with 38 seconds left, Bouchard unleashed a wrister that beat Arturs Silovs, which turned out to be the game-winning goal.
Last season in the first round against the Los Angeles Kings in Game 4, the Oilers were down 2-1 in the series and trailing 3-2 late in the game when Bouchard wired a one-timer past Darcy Kuemper with only 28 seconds remaining. Leon Draisaitl then scored the winner in OT, with the goal by the blueliner proving to be the turning point in the series, as the Oilers went on to win the next two games.
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