Defenceman Evan Bouchard had two goals and two assists as Team White beat Team Blue in the Edmonton Oilers scrimmage Sunday afternoon at the Downtown Community Arena.
Most of the Oilers more prominent players didn’t take part in the game.
“You get into a scrimmage, if you have all the top NHL guys, you end up focusing on those top NHL guys. You take them out, then the next layer you see where the separation is,” explained head coach Dave Tippett.
“When the NHL guys are there, between the top and the bottom, the separation is huge. You take the top out, the separation is less. There’s still separation, but those middle guys, you really get a chance to see them and see what they bring.”
After a scoreless first period, Team White took control with four goals in the second period. Colby Cave started it off by deflecting home a point shot from Bouchard.
Cameron Hebig took a pass from Joakim Nygard and picked the top corner to make it 2-0. Dmitri Samorukov scored from a sharp angle, then Bouchard get in behind the defence and went top shelf to make it 4-0.
Late in the second, Luke Esposito scored on a penalty shot to put blue on the board. All penalty calls resulted in penalty shots rather than having power plays.
Bouchard, Patrick Russell, and Nygard (penalty shot) added goals in the third.
“Everyone here is fighting a job. If you want to stay here, you have to take someone’s job,” said Bouchard, who played seven NHL games last season before being returned to junior.
“This summer, I worked on quickness. Defence is a huge part of the game today, especially with the Oilers this year it’s going to be a huge thing. I want to show I can do things on both sides of the ice.”
The Oilers open the pre-season Monday at home against the Winnipeg Jets. 630 CHED’s coverage starts with the Face-off Show at 5:30 p.m. The game starts at 7 p.m.
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