"I didn't know he was this good": Mike Babcock on Evan Bouchard

Mike Babcock's verdict on Evan Bouchard made the rounds this morning, and the Oilers head coach didn't hedge: "I didn't know he was this good."

Four games in, the numbers back him up. The Edmonton defenceman has 11 points, one behind Connor McDavid for the team lead.

A blueliner is out-producing Leon Draisaitl. Read that again.

And he's doing it as a pure finisher. Six of those points are goals, more than any other skater on the roster.

Last night in Anaheim was the loudest example yet. He scored twice, set up another and fired four shots on goal in a 5-2 win over the Ducks.

One of those goals held up as the game-winner. Babcock leaned on him for 23:09 of ice time on the back end.

Oilers goaltending problem hides behind Evan Bouchard's hot start

Now for the part nobody in that locker room wants to talk about. The Oilers have given up 16 goals in four games.

Devon Levi carries a .863 save percentage. Tristan Jarry is sitting at .739, which is the kind of number that buys a goalie a long stretch on the bench.

So the Oilers are 3-0-1 on a three-game win streak, and they're getting there the hard way. One of those wins was a 9-7 slugfest in Vancouver.

Two nights before that, the Canucks beat them 6-5 in overtime in Edmonton. Not exactly a structure Babcock will put on a coaching clinic tape.

Leaning on track-meet offense to cover leaky goaltending is like paying off one credit card with another. It feels fine for a month. Then the statement shows up.

And the quote itself is a little rich. Babcock took the job in June, and Bouchard's $10.5 million cap hit ranks fifth among NHL defencemen.

Not knowing your highest-paid blueliner was this good is a strange thing to admit out loud. Charming, maybe. Still strange.

The contrast on the back end is hard to miss. Jake Walman carries a $7 million cap hit and has no points with a -3 rating.

Meanwhile, the Oilers' No. 2 owns a +10, tied with Mattias Ekholm for the best mark on the team.

Help up front isn't coming soon either. Zach Hyman is on injured reserve and expected out until at least Oct. 17.

The California swing continues Saturday in San Jose, against a Sharks team that was blanked 5-0 in Dallas on Monday.

Bouchard can keep stacking points against teams like that. Can Edmonton keep winning if he ever stops?

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