Oilers' Evan Bouchard gets injury update after scary collision vs. Wild

12/13/2024 11:40 AM

The Edmonton Oilers put on a show against one of the National Hockey League’s best teams on Thursday night, crushing the Minnesota Wild 7-1 at Xcel Energy Center — but it could have come at the cost of star defenseman Evan Bouchard.

The 25-year-old was injured on a questionable hit by Wild forward Ryan Hartman late in the third period; he didn’t play another shift. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli provided an update on the former 10th overall pick shortly afterwards.

“Oilers Evan Bouchard will be reevaluated on Friday after he was sent flying into the post by Ryan Hartman late in the third period,” confirmed the hockey insider. “Bouchard had a slight limp postgame and soreness, but otherwise seemed to avoid the worst of it.”

After the hit, Bouchard could be seen bent over on the bench in clear pain, and it looked like he took hard contact in multiple places. The Oilers will be hoping that the ailment isn’t long-term; Bouchard has helped Edmonton win seven of eight games to vault into third place in the Pacific Division.

Oilers won big, but lost Evan Bouchard in process

Despite Bouchard’s disappointing injury, it was a seriously impressive performance by the Oilers. The Wild are 19-6-4 and second place in the Western Conference, and were playing at home, but Edmonton outdueled Minnesota all over the ice.

Leon Draisaitl led the way for the Oil, recording a goal and three assists; he now has 10 points over a six-game point streak. Connor McDavid added two assists, while goaltender Calvin Pickard made 29 saves.

Head coach Knoblauch was particularly impressed with Draisaitl’s game on Thursday night.

“Everyone was really good, but Leon really was at another level," Knoblauch said afterwards, per NHL.com’s Jessi Pierce. “His two linemates really helped out, [Vasily Podkolzin] and (Kasperi) Kapanen. Those three have been playing well. But Leon the last week or so has really been on top of his game."

The bench boss continued: “I think we were very motivated to play a good hockey team, first in the NHL, that’s been playing really well and not giving very much up. I think we’ve been playing some good hockey lately. I think right through our lineup, I think everyone gave us a really good game. And anytime that Minnesota had some opportunities to get back in the game, I think [Pickard] came up big with key saves.”

The best-case scenario would be Bouchard only being out short-term, but this Oilers team is surging right now. The club is up to 17-10-2 and just five points back of the Vegas Golden Knights for top spot in the Pacific Division.

Edmonton is still very much in the President’s Trophy race, and that will be especially true if Bouchard is able to avoid a long-term ailment. The Oilers are back in action against the Knights on Saturday afternoon as they look to close the tight gap in the division even further.

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