Connor McDavid has been the talk of the hockey world for the last two days, and rightly so, after leading the Edmonton Oilers to a 5-3 victory over the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday (June 18) in Game 5 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.
McDavid recorded two goals and two assists for the Oilers, who stayed alive by cutting Florida’s lead in the best-of-seven championship series to 3-2. Game 6 is tonight (June 21) at Rogers Place in the Alberta Capital.
Edmonton’s captain is having a postseason for the ages, punctuated by his play since the Oilers fell behind 3-0 in their series with Florida. The 27-year-old McDavid totalled three goals and five assists in the last two games, setting a record for most points by a player when facing elimination in a single Stanley Cup Final series.
McDavid is the runaway leader in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs with 42 points, including 34 assists, the most ever by any player in a single NHL postseason. He’s the odds-on favourite to win the Conn Smythe Trophy, as MVP of the 2024 NHL Playoffs, regardless of whether Edmonton emerges victorious.
So brightly has the spotlight shone on McDavid that there hasn’t been a lot of attention left over for anyone else, including Oilers blueliner Evan Bouchard, whose sensational play throughout this postseason has in some respects been equally as impressive and impactful as that of McDavid.
For all the records that McDavid has set, Bouchard has put up numbers never seen before by a defenceman. And while the Oilers don’t survive Games 4 and 5 of the Stanley Cup Final without the heroics of McDavid, they probably wouldn’t have even reached the championship round were it not for Bouchard’s contributions in the earlier rounds.
Simply put, Bouchard has had one of the greatest postseasons of any defenceman in NHL history. Here are just a few of the stats and facts to back it up:
Bouchard Has Big Start to Playoffs
The 24-year-old Bouchard helped the Oilers start the playoffs off strong, notching four assists in Edmonton’s 7-4 thumping of the Los Angeles Kings in Game 1 of the first round. He became the second defenceman in franchise history with at least four helpers in a playoff game, joining current assistant coach Paul Coffey, who did it twice in 1985 when the Oilers won their second Stanley Cup.
Bouchard Saves the Day Against Canucks
Trailing the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 in the second round, Edmonton was desperate to win Game 4 and avoid facing elimination on the road in the next game. The Oilers were ahead 2-0 with less than 15 minutes to play, but watched their lead disappear when the Canucks scored twice, with Vancouver’s Dakota Joshua tying things up at 18:19 of the third period.
Joshua’s goal silenced Rogers Place, and it felt like all the momentum was on Vancouver’s side. The Oilers needed a hero, and Bouchard answered the call, sending a rocket past Canucks netminder Arturs Silovs with 3.81 seconds remaining to lift Edmonton to a 3-2 win that evened up the series at two games apiece.
Bouchard became only the fourth player in franchise playoff history with a go-ahead goal in the final minute of regulation, joining Marty McSorley, Joe Murphy, and Steve Smith.
Bouchard Sets Points Record in First 2 Rounds
In Game 7 of Round 2 at Rogers Arena, Bouchard had two assists to help the Oilers beat Vancouver 3-2 to advance to the Western Conference Final. He drew the primary assist on the series-clinching goal from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, as the Oilers won a Game 7 on the road for the first time since 1998.
With those two assists, Bouchard became the first defenceman in NHL history to record at least 20 points through the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He totalled five goals and five assists in 12 games over Rounds 1 and 2.
Bouchard Owns All-Time Assists Record
On Tuesday, just one game after McDavid broke the record for most assists in a playoff year by any player, Bouchard set a new benchmark for apples by a defenceman in a single postseason.
The 6-foot-3 Bouchard had three helpers in Game 5, bringing his total in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs to 26, one more than Coffey’s formerly record-setting total in 1985.
More Milestones in Game 5 for Bouchard
But the history-making on Tuesday didn’t stop there for Bouchard, who became the first defenceman in 43 years to collect three assists when facing elimination in the Stanley Cup Final. Additionally, it was his seventh multi-assist performance of these playoffs, tying Larry Robinson for most by a defenceman in one postseason. Robinson had seven games of two or more assists in 1978 when he led the Montreal Canadiens to the championship and received the Conn Smythe Trophy.
Finally, Game 5 was Bouchard’s ninth multi-point game of the postseason, moving him into a tie with Coffey and Brian Leetch for the second most in a playoff year by a defenceman, behind Al MacInnis. MacInnis had 10 games of two or more points for the championship-winning Calgary Flames in 1989.
Bouchard Comes Through in the Clutch
McDavid has equalled the NHL single-postseason record for most assists in games when facing elimination, with eight, but he’s not alone in that feat: Bouchard also has eight apples this postseason in games that the Oilers have been on the ropes.
The record of eight assists when facing elimination in a playoff year had been shared by defenceman Adam Fox of the 2022 New York Rangers and forward Doug Gilmour of the 1993 Toronto Maple Leafs. Now it’s a four-way tie, and judging by the two Oilers’ clutch performances to this point, that deadlock will most likely be broken tonight.
Related: Epic Comebacks: History of Stanley Cup Playoff 3-0 Series Deficits
Were it not for McDavid, Bouchard would probably be Edmonton’s leading candidate for the Conn Smythe Trophy. He’s already got onto enough NHL record lists to ensure that his name will be mentioned for decades to come.
But the greatest history is yet to be made. That will occur only if the Oilers win two more games, becoming the first team in 82 years to capture the Stanley Cup after falling behind 3-0 in the championship series.
