There’s nothing better than getting off to a fast start to a new season.
Edmonton Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard got the chance to experience that pretty much immediately on Tuesday night.
The Oilers were at home on the opening night of the NHL season, hosting the Vancouver Canucks.
And on each of the first two Oilers’ goals, it was Bouchard who ended up skating along the bench to get a bunch of fist bumps.
Yep, the defenseman scored the Oilers’ first goal of the season, and then he scored the second goal of their season, too.
And guess what — later on, he made it a hat trick.
As far as achievements go, that’s pretty tough to beat. And in one way, it’s actually historic.
Evan Bouchard’s Unprecedented Oilers History
Bouchard became the first defenseman in Oilers history to score multiple goals in a season opener.
It only took him 25 minutes to do so, and the second goal he netted came from right in front of the net, a very unusual spot for most blue liners.
Evan Bouchard
First defenceman in Oilers history with a multi-goal game in a season opener pic.twitter.com/uhLFbcXIoz
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) September 30, 2026
Then in the third period, Bouchard netted a third goal to make him the first defenseman with an opening-night hat trick in 46 years.
The Oilers have relied on Bouchard as a big scorer for a while now, so it’s not totally surprising to see a night like this.
It’s still quite cool, though. Edmonton has had some great hockey players through the generations, but none of the defensemen that have suited up for the Oilers have started a season quite like this.
Evan Bouchard Makes Sense
It does make sense that of all the players to do this in Edmonton, it’d be Bouchard.
Still just 26, Bouchard entered Tuesday night with 333 points in 429 NHL games. He has scored 76 goals and dished out 257 assists.
Bouchard is often more well known for his line-splitting, aggressive passes, but he can clearly score the puck himself, too.
A season ago, Bouchard put in a career-high 21 goals for the Oilers. That went along with 74 assists so that the defenseman finished the year with 95 points.
That was his best season, ahead of the 18-64-82 he had in 2023-24.
Bouchard has only missed two games over the past five seasons in total, as well. It’s clear that he’s the leader from the defensive side of what the Oilers do.
So it would’ve been a bit ironic if someone else set this mark.
Instead, though, Bouchard had it covered. If an Oilers defenseman was going to score a boatload of goals on opening night, it was going to be him. And on Tuesday, that’s exactly what Bouchard did.
Oilers’ Evan Bouchard Makes Hockey History for 1st Time