He’s in a group around 1.5 points per 60 with Erik Karlsson, Morgan Rielly, Justin Faulk, Adam Fox and MacKenzie Weegar.
Not only that his rate of even strength scoring this year is ahead of the other top d-men taken in the 2018 draft: Bouchard 1.55 per 60; Rasmus Dahlin, 1.12, Adam Boqvist, 1.25, Quinn Hughes, 1.05, Noah Dobson, 1.17.
He doesn’t do it with blazing speed or uncommon agility.
No Oilers d-man is more likely to make a major mistake on a Grade A shot against, with Bouch’s troubles often coming in the corners and in front of the net in his own zone where he will both lose battles and also get out of of position.
He’s merely got to be sound, to forcefully and consistently stay on the right side of his check in the defensive zone, while also winning more than a fair share of puck battles.
When you average out the two, Bouchard has done as well as almost any other Oilers d-man this year, though his numbers get a significant bump because he’s faced far less difficult opponents than players like Ceci and Nurse.
Neither player is a top shutdown d-man at this point, with most of the heavy lifting against the toughest competition done by The Indispensables, the new pairing of Darnell Nurse and Cody Ceci which is constantly asked to play against the very best attackers of the NHL.
Bouchard and Keith are also good enough.
What do the Oilers need from this pairing in weeks to come? More of the same on the attack, combined with increased focus and intensity on defence, making sure they’re getting the job done there.
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