GENE'S BLOG: Ev(an)olution

The one thing that struck me about an awesome Saturday night in Montreal watching the Canadiens host the Oilers in a battle between the 'Bleu, Blanc et Rouge' and the 'Bleu et Orange' was the booing.

There was plenty of cheering for both teams. There always is – even when Edmonton leaves the geographical confines of Oil Country – but the booing was for Connor McDavid.

Sacre bleu. I couldn't believe it.

I can't say I have ever heard a crowd treat the Edmonton captain like that. All he did was draw a penalty from the Habs' Jake Evans. McDavid didn't dive. He didn't embellish. He didn't yell at Evans. All he did was get up. After that, every time he touched the puck, the boos cascaded through the Bell Centre – less a sign of disdain and more of respect for the man who set up the eventual game-winning goal in OT by Evan Bouchard.

After the final shot on goal, Canadiens diehards continued to boo the 27-year-old birthday boy and the result while Oilers fans cheered. The Edmonton supporters also booed, but not in a negative way. Instead, they did it in a way of honouring 'Boooouchard' or by yelling loudly in praise of the record-breaking Bouch Bomb.

The overtime hero for a second time in his Oilers career won the game on a slap shot that wrote Edmonton's 10th straight win into their history books with a franchise record string of success.

It's incredible what the team accomplished, and what one player has proven in a breakout season. It has been a blast, pun intended, to watch the growth of the Edmonton defenceman. His D partner Mattias Ekholm has often said he can do things that others can't, and more than ever he is showing that.

I mean, you don't need to see it in writing. You can see it in person at Rogers Place or on TV like Saturday night's Hockey Night in Canada, as an Original Six setting with the crowd on the edge of their seats and on their feet at the Bell Centre had a chance to experience the 'Evanolution' of Bouchard. It was on a stage to be seen in La Belle Province, every other province in Canada and each of the United States.

This first-round selection from 2018 is becoming everything the Oilers imagined he would be after he was hand-picked from the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. The numbers he is putting forward are becoming historical. He's the first defenceman and the only other defenceman in Oilers history that isn't named Paul Coffey to hit 40 points before hitting 40 games in a season (39 to be exact).

He's tied for fourth in NHL scoring from blueliners and third overall in goals from the back end. He's already equalled his point total from last season, which was achieved in 82 games. He is set to obliterate his career high of 43 points. It's been that kind of season for the 24-year-old.

What's equally as satisfying and encouraging is his defensive awareness and commitment to the defensive end of the ice. While his OT winner, accentuated by a Louie DeBrusk "Bouch Bomb" call, was the marquee highlight, there was another play on the road trip that stuck in my head.

It was in Detroit on Thursday night. It was an even hockey game. Edmonton was on the power play, and Bouchard tried a toe-drag at the Red Wings blue line – one of the few that didn't work. The Wings quickly developed an odd-man rush, but who was back to break it up and nullify a glorious scoring opportunity? You guessed it – Evan Bouchard.

It was a play that helped save the game and set the table for another defenceman, Darnell Nurse, for the first of two straight wins in overtime (imagine Jack Michaels' call from Little Caesars Arena).

On Tuesday night, Bouchard will be one of a handful of stars who will be in Edmonton as Toronto makes a visit. As a kid, Bouchard on his birthdays would sometimes get tickets to watch the Leafs. Now, it's the Leafs that better watch Evan in case he decides to unleash another Bouch Bomb.