Dallas Stars defenceman Cody Ceci (44) tries to stop Oilers winger Zach Hyman (18) during the second period of the NHL's Western Conference final in Edmonton on Sunday, May 25, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Zach Hyman’s coach and teammates had been raving about his contributions.
The grinding winger for the Edmonton Oilers wasn’t putting the puck in the net at the same rate. A combined goals 70 in the 2023-24 regular-season and playoffs is a tough act for any player to follow.
His contributions, however, weren’t going unnoticed. The heart-and-soul forward led the Stanley Cup playoffs in hits, continued to chip in offensively on the top line with superstar captain Connor McDavid, and set a workhorse-like example.
Hyman’s value to the Oilers can’t be overstated. They now have to push on without him.
Head coach Kris Knoblauch said Wednesday the 32-year-old was set have surgery and is “most likely done” for the playoffs after getting injured in Edmonton’s 4-1 victory over Dallas in Game 4 of the NHL’s Western Conference final.
Hyman was hurt midway through Tuesday’s first period when he took a glancing hit from Stars forward Mason Marchment in the neutral zone. Edmonton’s No. 18 dropped his stick and made a beeline for the locker room favoring his right arm.
The Toronto native led the post-season with 111 hits — 29 more than second-place Sam Bennett of the Florida Panthers — when he was injured, to go along with five goals and six assists.
“He’s put everything out there,” said Knoblauch, who declined to add specifics on the nature of Hyman’s injury. “Scoring key goals, but the physical department, how many hits he had and his two-way play was tremendous. Now that we’re going to be missing him, we’re going to need other guys to step up.”
Edmonton, which leads the best-of-seven series 3-1 and can book a second consecutive trip to the Cup final with a victory Thursday in Dallas, could pivot to veteran forwards Jeff Skinner or Derek Ryan as Hyman’s replacement on the roster.
Knoblauch sprinkled depth wingers Trent Frederic and Corey Perry on the top line alongside McDavid after Hyman went down, and also praised the contributions of Viktor Arvidsson, who entered the lineup with fellow winger Connor Brown (undisclosed) out for Game 4.
“Played the way we want him to,” Knoblauch said. “We’ll need more of that from Viktor.”
The Oilers were fortunate on the injury front last season on the way to making it all the way to Game 7 of the Cup final against the Florida Panthers. They also largely dodged torn muscles, injured joints and broken bones in 2024-25, but the floodgates opened late in the schedule with McDavid, Hyman, centre Leon Draisaitl and defenceman Mattias Ekholm all missing time.
Ekholm, normally a top-pair defenceman alongside Evan Bouchard, remains out and hasn’t played in the playoffs, but is nearing a return.
“Zach’s going to be huge hole,” Knoblauch said. “(We) have a lot of depth that guys can come in and step up.”
“We were very fortunate to have the depth that we had (last season),” he added. “This year we’re probably a little step above that.”
The Oilers also know they will need to get to another level Thursday with the Stars facing elimination. Edmonton was on its heels early in Game 4 and could have easily been trailing if not for another outstanding performance from goaltender Stuart Skinner.
The sense of urgency in the Dallas locker room is a feeling the Oilers know all about after coming back from a 3-0 deficit in last year’s Cup final before falling just short in Game 7.
“It brought out the best of our team, playing with a lot of desperation and focus and just laying it on the line every single shift,” Knoblauch said. “We can’t control what the other team’s going to do, but what we can control is how we play and how we handle those circumstances.
“We’re going to have to be prepared.”
Those preparations won’t include Hyman.
Game 5 is set for Thursday night in Dallas. Puck drops at 6:15
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