'A lot of natural talent': Oilers rave about Bouchard's power play work, matching NHL record

It's been a tale of two seasons for Evan Bouchard, and for Edmonton Oilers fans, the best part is coming at exactly the right time.

The 23-year-old defenceman struggled by his standards early in the season, recording just 21 points in his first 61 games and seeing his ice time dip on a third pairing.

But since Bouchard began playing with newcomer Mattias Ekholm and was moved to the Oilers top power play following the departure of Tyson Barrie, he has exploded for 29 points in 27 games.

"He's been excellent for us. That pairing, with him and Ekholm together, move the puck very well, they defended well, they helped us generate offence," head coach Jay Woodcroft said Monday.

"And then to see the steps he's taking as a power-play quarterback, I think that's also a positive sign for him personally and for us as a group."

Bouchard was so good in the Oilers first-round victory over the L.A. Kings, he tied fellow defencemen Denis Potvin, Paul Coffey and John Carlson for the NHL record with eight power-play points in a playoff series.

The Oilers also lead the NHL in playoff power play percentage at 56.3.

"Bouchy has a lot of his own ideas and I think that makes our power play even more dangerous on top of what we've already created over the last couple of years," sniper Leon Draisaitl said.

"He's got a lot of natural instincts, a lot of natural talent, so we love having him up there."

Bouchard, who will be a restricted free agent in the offseason, also saw his ice time increase from about 17 minutes a night to more than 20 since Barrie left.

"He's a tremendous defenceman. First when I got here you could tell right away he's just scratching the surface of his potential and what he can be," Ekholm told reporters.

"I think he's having a really big come out party here right now where he's playing tremendous every night."

Ekholm pointed out that he and Bouchard played against the Kings top two forward lines for most of the series and said his young partner handled it well.

"The most impressive thing I find with his game is that offensively he has everything you need, but it's not at a cost of the defensive side either," Ekholm said.

"He's not a defensive monster [who] takes guys down, but he does his job and his responsibility. He's so smart, he knows where to be."

Bouchard leads all NHL defencemen in playoff points with 10 in six games.

The Oilers skated Monday at the Kings practice facility in California and will go straight to Vegas for Game 1 against the Golden Knights on Wednesday night.