PROJECTED LINEUP: Bouchard makes a game decision against the Golden Knights

Bouchard’s eighth multi-point game of the season at Minnesota gave Oakville, Ontario, 15 points (3G, 12A) in its last 14 games. Product whose potential absence Saturday would force the Oilers to try to replace their power-play quarterback and his average ice time of 23:39 this season.

“He’s kind of the unique defender we have in our backfield,” Mattias Ekholm said. “He’s the offensive player; He is the go-to guy when it comes to scoring goals and creating offense. So if that were the case, it would obviously be a big loss. But we have a lot of pieces in here that, if they go out, are big losses, and we know we had big guys out this year too.

“There will be a next-man-up mentality and we will have to take on more responsibility.”

The Oilers had just five defensemen participate in practice on Friday – a number reduced by injuries to Evan Bouchard (upper body) and newcomer Alec Regula (knee), as well as the corresponding absence of blueliner Travis Dermott on waivers to the Wild.

During Friday’s practice, Mattias Ekholm was paired with Ty Emberson, who would likely be asked to fill Bouchard’s vacant spot if he is unable to play against the Golden Knights on Saturday.