Head, shoulders, knees and toes.
It’s either the start of a famous nursery rhyme, or it’s the list of any of the possible injuries suffered by Evan Bouchard’s from a punishing hit late in Thursday’s 7-1 win over the Minnesota Wild.
The Edmonton Oilers defenceman turned to retrieve a puck sent in behind his own net with 3:45 left in the game, when he was side-swiped by Wild forward Ryan Hartman, sending Bouchard headfirst into the net and goalie Calvin Pickard before hitting the end boards.
“Their player just hit Bouch into the net and, obviously, he falls in rather awkwardly,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch. “It could have been really bad if Picks hadn’t been there, it looks like he probably would have put his head off the post.
“But again, Picks made another big save, so he (Bouchard) just got banged up a little bit.”
Bouchard managed to pick himself up and gingerly made his way off the ice. He did not participate in Oilers practice Friday at the Downtown Community Arena and might miss Saturday’s showdown against the Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights (2 p.m., Sportsnet).
“Obviously, he didn’t skate today,” Knoblauch said. “He will get evaluated tomorrow and he will be a game-time decision.
“It’s nothing major — we don’t think it is. And tomorrow we’ll find out. It’s probably 50-50 (for Bouchard) to play tomorrow.”
If not, the Oilers will dress newly acquired waiver pickup Alec Regula, who was claimed from the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.
But the concern in the Oilers dressing room Friday revolved around the health of the team’s top point-producing defenceman, as Bouchard has 22 points (six goals, 16 assists) in 29 games this season.
“He’s kind of the unique defenceman we have on our back end,” said his defensive partner, Mattias Ekholm. “He’s the offensive guy, he’s the go-to guy when it comes to scoring goals and creating offence.
“If that’s the case (and Bouchard sits out), I have no idea, but then obviously that would be a big loss. But we have a lot of pieces in here that if they’re out they’re big losses. We’ve had big guys out this year, too, and it’s the next-man-up mentality.”
Not that a defenceman coming off an 82-point season (16 goals, 64 assists) is easily replaceable.
“It’s tough. He’s a little banged up, I think,” said fellow Oilers blueliner Brett Kulak. “We don’t know really to what extent, but it’s just a play. Hartman’s obviously a physical player and just the way the game was going, I’m sure there’s some frustration and they’re looking to finish a few extra checks, and do whatever.
“Most of the time, you take a check and it’s all good, but I don’t know if he hit the post or what happened. I didn’t get a chance to talk to him, but I hope he doesn’t miss any time, or if he does have to it’s not very much.”
Especially considering the way things have been going for the Oilers, who head into Saturday’s tilt winners of seven of their past eight.
The wild thing is this run lines up perfectly with last year’s eight-game win streak that began a turnaround that saw the slow-starting Oilers march all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
This time around, the same stretch was interrupted by a 1-0 loss to the very same Golden Knights on Dec. 3.
The Knights come into this one winners of their last three, while the Oilers are on a season-high four-game win streak.
And they sure could use the services of Bouchard in Saturday’s rematch.
“I think the game’s over and it’s out of reach at that point and you can kind of let the clock tick down,” Kulak said of Hartman’s extra effort. “But players play with a lot of pride and they’re competitive guys that get ready all day to prepare for the game.
“And you play to the final buzzer and you want to play hard. And if anything, you usually show them that you’re ready for the next time you guys meet anyway.”
But that’s a sentiment for another time. Right now, the focus is on keeping their streak going against the division leader, before turning around and taking on another division leader in the Florida Panthers on Monday.
Of course, the Oilers are riding high after dismantling a Wild team that wasn’t just leading its division, but the entire league.
“They beat us twice this year, so obviously we would like to rectify that,” Ekholm said of the Golden Knights. “They’re a great team, we know that they’re usually at the top of the Pacific. We want to be at the top of the Pacific, so it’s a big game.
“It’s going to have a playoff-like feel to it, I’m sure.”
E-mail: [email protected]
On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge