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Oilers’ Evan Bouchard responds after being benched by head coach Kris Knoblauch

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thursday
Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch gave the fans screaming for accountability on Evan Bouchard an early Christmas gift on Monday night.

With just over eight minutes left in the first period, Knoblauch had seen enough of his $10.5 million defenceman and parked him on the bench until the second frame. Bouchard took an unnecessary retaliatory penalty after the puck was gone, stunting what had been a positive opening 10 minutes for the Oilers.

Columbus capitalized on the power play, taking the lead in a period Edmonton had otherwise controlled. Once again, Bouchard’s decision-making halted the Oilers’ momentum in a game they desperately needed to win. His benching likely stemmed from more than that penalty — he’d already had two shaky shifts earlier in the period that featured turnovers from bad positioning and lazy puck play.

It wasn’t the first time Knoblauch had sent a message. Darnell Nurse faced the same treatment against Utah a couple of weeks ago and responded with one of his........

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