It’s common knowledge that Edmonton is known for their West Edmonton Mall, which is also known for its amusement park. However, it’s less commonly known that Rogers Place has its own rollercoaster. This one features your emotions.
The Edmonton Oilers have won both games at home in the first round of the 2025 NHL playoffs in dramatic fashion to tie the series at two games heading back to L.A. for Game 5. There has been no shortage of exciting highs and depressing lows on this journey so far.
Edmonton seems to always have a comeback
Both of these games featured late comebacks. In Game 3 it was Evander Kane who scored the tying goal with 6:42 left in the third. After a review for a kicking motion that deemed it to be a good goal, the Los Angeles Kings decided to challenge for goaltender interference. Once again, the Oilers won the review and the goal counted as it was deemed there was no goaltender interference on the play.
Not only that, the Oilers were awarded a power play as a result of the Kings getting their challenge wrong. On the ensuing face-off at centre ice, Evan Bouchard gained control of the puck. Instead of dropping the puck to Connor McDavid to let him skate it through the neutral zone, he chose to keep it. And it caught the Kings penalty killers off guard.
Instead, he passed it to Leon Draisaitl, who gives it right back to Bouchard for a tap-in to give the Oilers the lead. They’d add two empty net goals to win Game 3 7–4. That wasn’t the end for Bouchard though, not by a longshot.
The duality of Evan Bouchard
Bouchard is a truly fascinating player to watch. It seems like he’s a different player depending where he is on the ice. In the offensive zone he’s unbelievable, he’s got great vision for passes, he’s smart with the puck, and has a cannon of a shot from the point also known as a “Bouch Bomb.”
In the defensive zone Bouchard is somewhat of a liability. That might be putting it lightly, depending on the game. For example, in Game 4, two of the Kings’ goals were Bouchard’s fault. On the opening goal by Trevor Moore, Bouchard, instead of stepping up, just lets him walk right into the slot. On Kevin Fiala’s goal, he tried to toe-drag at the offensive zone blueline and lost the puck. Fiala then received a breakaway pass from Alex Laferriere which was promptly deposited in the Oilers’ net.
Fans have been all over Bouchard throughout the series, but if you watch him enough, you’ll quickly realize that that’s just the type of player he is. Game 4 was the most Evan Bouchard game of all time.
The man had three points but finished -1.
Ever since Bouchard’s time with the London Knights in the OHL he was known as a guy who put up lots of points but isn’t great in the defensive zone. He was on the Memorial Cup championship team in London with Matthew Tkachuk, and Mitch Marner in 2016.
His best year individually was in 2017–18, which was his NHL draft year due to his October birthday. He put up 25 goals and 87 points in just 67 games. However, his total plus-minus was only 23.
But that’s all in the past. It was 3–1 Kings after the second period of Game 4 and the Oilers again overcame a deficit in the third. With two goals from, you guessed it, Bouchard!
The first one was a bit of a fluke and a lucky goal. It was a bit of a weak shot that just found a way to go in. It was a massive goal because it put the crowd back into the game.
In the final minutes it seemed like the Kings were going to be able to finish the game and win. They out played the Oilers for the first 50-ish minutes of this game, but sometimes when you have the lead after two periods, you start playing overly defensive. The Kings got burnt on this twice in two games, leading to Kings Head Coach Jim Hiller’s testy press conference after Game 4.
Jim Hiller gets a little snippy with the media… pic.twitter.com/VOtVJERxAR
— World Hockey Report (@worldhockeyrpt) April 28, 2025
Quinton Byfield had a chance to chip the puck out of the zone where he would have had an empty net. But, Bouchard batted the puck out of mid-air and kept it in the zone. On the ensuing sequence, he let a Bouch Bomb go and scored to tie it with 29 seconds left.
The Oilers won in overtime on a Draisaitl power play goal, sending Rogers Place into a frenzy.
The playoffs are the most stressful time of year. It’s always a rollercoaster of emotions. For the Oilers, Bouchard is a main cause of that roller coaster.
Evan Bouchard’s future with Edmonton
Evan Bouchard is on pace to be one the best offensive defenceman in NHL playoff history, points-wise. Through four games in this series, he’s had seven points. The only defenceman ahead of him in points is Cam Fowler with eight.
It’s weird that a player can put up these types of stats in big games, showing up clutch in big moments—all four goals he’s had have been massive—but end up being this polarizing. He’s almost guaranteed not to make a best-on-best Canada roster at the Olympics next February because of the way he plays defensively.
With his two-year, $3.9M per year contract ending on July 1, fans are curious about what the future of looks like for Bouchard as an Edmonton Oiler. If he keeps this up, he will be due for a massive pay day this offseason.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
