Evan Bouchard scored a power-play goal in the third period to put EDM ahead 3-2 against ANA in Game 4. Bouchard took the dish on his way into the circle and ripped the puck behind Lukas Dostal.
The goal followed an Edmonton sequence that started with Kapanen turning and burying the rebound in front, then Granlund tying the game on the power play by sending the puck through the five-hole. Bouchard’s finish restored the lead and stood out in a highlight list that also included scoring from TBL@MTL, COL@LAK, BUF@BOS and DAL@MIN.
That made Bouchard the decisive name in a game that had already swung back and forth on special teams, with EDM and ANA trading answers before his third-period strike broke the tie. The timing mattered because it came in the final frame of EDM@ANA, Gm 4, when every power-play chance carried extra weight.
The rest of the playoff slate was just as busy. Hagel scored game-tying and go-ahead goals in TBL@MTL, Gm 4, Suzuki and Caufield combined for a power-play goal there as well, and Bolduc opened the scoring with a deflection. In COL@LAK, Gm 4, Makar scored on a solo effort in the second period and Toews added to Colorado’s lead in the third, while BUF@BOS, Gm 4 featured Krebs, Doan and McLeod, MacKinnon, and the pairing of Tuch and Thompson in a 6-0 lead. Spurgeon and Boldy then finished DAL@MIN, Gm 4 with the OT-winning goal.
For Edmonton, Bouchard’s strike was the one that changed the night’s balance. It turned a tight playoff game into a lead the Oilers could protect, and it put his name at the center of the series’ fourth game when the margin for error was already gone.
