EDMONTON — Sometimes, all a player needs is a little luck. A change of fortune was long overdue for winger Zach Hyman, and the timing was perfect to boot.
Making his return to the Edmonton Oilers lineup from a five-game injury absence, Hyman scored twice in a 6-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday. Those were just his fourth and fifth goals of the season.
“It was a good reset,” Hyman said. “Obviously, I didn’t have the greatest start. Good first game back.
“When I say it wasn’t a great start, I just wasn’t scoring. I thought I was playing pretty good and getting looks and chances. It was nice for them to go in.”
It was the first time Hyman scored more than once in a game after doing so 10 times last season, when he finished third in the NHL with 54 goals.
Hyman went on to lead the league with 16 goals in the postseason. That left him tied with his former Toronto Maple Leafs teammate Auston Matthews for the top spot with 70 markers, regular season and playoffs combined.
Through the first 20 games, that touch eluded him. Hyman was doing everything except convert his chances before he was sidelined with an undisclosed ailment.
Per Natural Stat Trick, he was 19th in the NHL with 1.43 expected goals per 60 minutes in all situations entering play Thursday — and 9.14 overall — yet had netted just three goals. Those markers came in a four-game span from Oct. 31 to Nov. 6, after he went his first 10 contests without scoring.
“He’s had his looks,” linemate Connor McDavid said. “We’ve generated chances. I know fancy stats don’t really mean much, but the fancy stats say that our team has created chances, and we just haven’t finished.
“Hyzie would be right at the top of that list just in terms of being able to get looks. Maybe (needed) a little bit of puck luck as well.”
He got it Thursday. Finally, Hyman produced like his old self again.
ZMH is SO back 🔥 #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/tpUdBeSBvn
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) December 6, 2024
His two-goal performance against the Blue Jackets was more like the Hyman who has evolved into a scoring machine since arriving in Edmonton a little over three years ago. All those chances he missed so frequently earlier in the season went in against Columbus.
“It was just (him) being about to put it in the net,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “I’ve been happy with his game right from the beginning of the year.”
Hyman scored an easy goal when McDavid sliced his way through two Blue Jackets and found him all alone to the side of the net for his first of four assists. That goal tied the score at 9:46 of the first period.
“It was an unbelievable play by him to set me up on that first one,” Hyman said. “It was nice to get on the board early.
“Playing with him for a long time, he finds space and usually finds (you) if he thinks it’s the right play. I got a really good look out of it and was able to put it in.”
Then, in the middle frame, Hyman took a pass from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and snapped a shot past Daniil Tarasov off the rush. Hyman’s second goal put the Oilers up 4-1, and they never lost command.
“I thought he was sharp, good around the net and ready for it,” McDavid said. “The chances he did have, he got good wood on it and made his shot. That’s what he does.”
Hyman was even the centre of attention when Leon Draisaitl scored his first of two goals — he’s now tied with Sam Reinhart for the NHL lead with 19 — early in the second period. Naturally, Hyman was in his customary spot in and around the crease when Draisaitl backhanded an attempt home.
The Blue Jackets challenged for goaltender interference, but Hyman was deemed by the NHL not to have impaired Tarasov from playing his position. Mattias Ekholm scored on the subsequent power play.
“He’s an elite talent,” Knoblauch said of Hyman. “It’s not like he just took some time off and found his game. He was just ready to play.”
Hyman potting two goals was as good an omen as any that the Oilers have reverted to their renowned offensive ways.
Another example: Offseason signee Jeff Skinner matched Hyman with his fifth goal by scoring late in the game. It was only his second tally in the last 14 contests.
Skinner, a six-time 30-goal scorer, and Hyman have been in the same boat: two players with excellent offensive track records struggling to find positive results. At least, until Thursday.
“It always feels like you’re playing better, or it feels like you’re executing better when you’ve got some confidence and things are going your way,” Skinner said. “You go through times when it’s not bouncing your way, and you have to fight through it.”
Other than being shut out by the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, the Oilers seem to have turned the corner. They have scored four and six goals twice within the past five games.
Thanks to their recent scoring uptick, the Oilers are now 17th in the NHL by averaging three goals per game.
“It was just a matter of timing before they go in,” Knoblauch said.
“As a team, we’re starting to find our game and play a full game,” Hyman said. “A lot of guys contributing, and that’s when you get the most success.”
Hyman pushed his way toward the front of that list Thursday after a slow start.
Stuck on three goals while he was nursing his injury, Hyman never got a call this week from Team Canada for the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off; it felt so certain he would a few months ago. Though disappointed, Hyman maintained that playing well for the Oilers was, and is, his top priority.
Mission accomplished against the Blue Jackets.
“It’s nice having Zach back,” Knoblauch said. “I was thinking about our previous game when we couldn’t score a goal that maybe he could have made a difference. But it was nice that he took the extra time, and he’s healthy and he’s ready to contribute.
“Having that guy who can put the puck in the net is key for us.”
(Photo: Perry Nelson / Imagn Images)