The Oilers expect to have winger Zach Hyman back in the lineup for their regular-season finale tonight against the Canucks, per the team’s website. They’d been resting him for the last several games with an undisclosed lingering injury.
There was never any real concern about Hyman’s playoff status, but it’s still good to see him getting a tune-up game before the Oilers kick off their first-round series – which could still be against either the Ducks, Kings, or Avalanche – in a few days. He last dressed on April 2 against the Blackhawks, missing Edmonton’s last five games. Knoblauch said the injury is unrelated to the wrist dislocation he sustained in last year’s Western Conference Final, nor is it something that realistically would have sidelined him for a postseason contest, but they opted to give him some rest to get as close to 100% as possible.
Hyman’s impact in Edmonton’s top six will be even more crucial as Leon Draisaitl‘s status for Game 1 remains cloudy. The German superstar started skating earlier this week for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury against the Predators over a month ago. He’s expected back sometime during the first round but it’s unclear if he’ll be ready to go for a potential Sunday or Monday Game 1.
With Jason Dickinson, Max Jones, and Mattias Janmark also sidelined, Edmonton’s current bottom six group does not include a double-digit goal scorer and has combined for just 21 tallies on the season, not including the three goals Colton Dach had for the Blackhawks prior to his acquisition. They will need to squeeze all they can out of Connor McDavid and their top two lines, a task that obviously becomes more trying with Draisaitl out but would be virtually impossible without Hyman.
Arguably one of the more successful free-agent gambles in recent memory, Hyman has been a perfect complementary net-front piece to McDavid at even strength since landing in Edmonton in 2021. Aside from what looks like a one-off down year last season, he’s been a true impact producer. Despite his latest ailment and the wrist dislocation that stretched into this season limiting him to 57 games, he’s still racked up 31 goals and 51 points. His 19.6% shooting rate isn’t quite a career high, but it’s up there. He’s on a 45-goal pace over an 82-game season.
He’s clearly the Oilers’ most trusted and most deployed forward behind McDavid and Draisaitl. His 0.89 points per game are fourth on the team behind them and Evan Bouchard, and he’s averaging north of 20 minutes per game for the second time in his career despite no longer factoring in on Edmonton’s penalty kill.
A regulation loss, paired with wins by Anaheim and LA could also mean a date with the Avs.
Right, I was even trying to figure everything out this morning on my own. Woof.