The Edmonton Oilers hammered the Columbus Blue Jackets by a score of 6-3 on Thursday night and the big story from the game was Zach Hyman’s roaring return.
The gritty winger returned to the team’s lineup after missing five games with an undisclosed injury. Hyman scored his first goal since early November in the middle of the first period to tie the score at 1-1 and he buried another goal in the second that put the Oilers ahead 4-1.
The top line of Hyman, Connor McDavid, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins completely dominated the Blue Jackets at even strength. In just under 11 minutes of play, the trio had 13 shot attempts compared to six from the Blue Jackets and they produced eight scoring chances while allowing Columbus to generate none.
It was a vintage performance from Hyman, who was left off of Team Canada’s roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off earlier this week. After scoring 54 goals in 2023-24 and adding 16 more in the playoffs, the 32-year-old had just three goals and eight points through 20 games coming into Thursday’s match with the Blue Jackets. The slow start and injury contributed to McDavid’s wingman not making the team.
Of course, plenty can still happen between now and February when the 4 Nations Face-Off is scheduled to be played in Montreal and Boston. Frank Seravalli noted on Friday’s edition of Daily Faceoff Live that Hyman will be at the top of Canada’s list for injury replacements if he keeps up the level of play he showed in his return.
“Let’s look at three names who I believe have come to the top of Team Canada’s list [for possible injury replacements]. They incude Mark Scheifele from the Winnipeg Jets, Zach Hyman from the Edmonton Oilers, and on defence, I believe one of the last players cut was MacKenzie Weegar from the Calgary Flames.Hyman had a big first game back from injury last night. He was on hat-trick watch and almost doubled his season-long goal total. That was a huge response to being cut from the 4 Nations Face-Off team. If he continues at a clip like this, he’s certainly going to be at the very top of the list.”
