Oilers star defenseman Evan Bouchard continues to have one of the worst seasons of his career so far, from costly mistakes to bottom-of-the-league statistics. The Edmonton Oilers still struggle with the same frustrating issue: their so-called best weapon is becoming their own Achilles' heel. On Saturday, <a href='https://edmontonjournal.com/sports/hockey/nhl/edmonton-oilers/rough-night-for-bouchard-as-edmonton-oilers-bow-down-to-seattle-kraken' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Edmonton's lack of creating again cost them 3-2 to the Seattle Kraken</a>. It was the eighth time in nine games that they've been able to muster two or fewer even-strength tallies, a disturbing trend for a team constructed around franchise-level goal-scorers. Defenseman Evan Bouchard's forgetful night involved <a href='https://www.hockeylatest.com/nhl-team/edmonton-oilers/evan-bouchard-called-out-after-costly-game-by-his-teammates-and-coach' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>committing a string of expensive mistakes</a> that resulted directly in Seattle goals off his own blunders. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/Sportsnet/status/1982456130900316271'><div style='border:1px solid #CCCCCC;border-radius:10px;padding:20px;width:300px;'>Loading from Twitter ...</div></a></blockquote></div> His pinch in the first period left the Oilers with a two-on-one that Jordan Eberle ripped home for the opening goal, and another assignment breakdown left Tye Kartye alone for a wide-open Kraken second. <h3>Despite Evan Bouchard's goal, his constant mistakes are far outweighing any positives this season</h3> While Bouchard redeemed himself for a moment with a power-play goal, his subsequent turnover and blunder resulted in Eberle's second goal to seal the loss. It was just some mistakes on giving up chances off the rush, said Knoblauch. Whether it was a bad pinch or the forwards not coming back, we're just out of sync there and that's where Seattle had pretty much all their chances - off plays like that. Most of (the game) was good, but that part, and it's a very important part, we need to get better at. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/amato_mike/status/1982459284509102136'><div style='border:1px solid #CCCCCC;border-radius:10px;padding:20px;width:300px;'>Loading from Twitter ...</div></a></blockquote></div> The Oilers are 4-4-1, the same as they were a year ago at this point. They are 27th in five-on-five scoring and 21st in goals per game overall. Connor McDavid logged nearly 24 minutes of ice time but failed to register a shot or a point, and Edmonton's power play keeps generating much of the offense, scoring nearly half of their recent goals. For every fleeting glimpse of hustle and urgency, the Oilers' habitual defensive blunders and inability to close at even strength are still glaring weaknesses. As long as their habits don't change, their so-called biggest strength, their offense, will be the very factor that holds them back. Either that or Bouchard's blunders.