Zach Hyman could join rare Oilers 60-goal club this season
It is not out of the realm of possibility that Edmonton Oilers forward Zach Hyman hits 60 goals this season, seriously.
The 31-year-old is having an amazing season with the Oilers and leads the team with 25 goals through the first 35 games of the season. This is just five goals behind Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews for the league lead, and tied for fourth alongside New York Rangers superstar Artemi Panarin.
NHL.com
This has Hyman ahead of some pretty heavy hitters like former Boston Bruins 60-goal scorer David Pastrnak (24) and Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon (22).
Nine of Hyman’s goals have come in the form of three separate hat tricks, the latest being on Saturday night in a 3-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators. This is tied for the league lead in hat tricks with Matthews.
Right now, Hyman is on pace for a whopping 57 goals on the season, which means he would be just three goals away from reaching the summit of 60, a mark that has only been hit by an Oilers player once over the past three decades. Of course, Connor McDavid was able to do it last season but, outside of that, only Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri have reached that plateau in an Oilers uniform.
It’s a huge ask for Hyman and it may be a bit out of his reach but, right now, it is certainly possible. The Toronto native is playing his best hockey of the season on Edmonton’s top line and has seven goals in his last six games. The amount of chemistry being shown between Hyman and McDavid is rivalled only by the success that Leon Draisaitl has had with the Oilers captain.
To get to 60 goals, that chemistry would have to continue for the rest of the season, with a few additional scoring bursts here and there. The Oilers have 46 games left in their regular season schedule, which means that Hyman would have to score 35 more goals in that span to become the fourth Oilers player of all-time to breach 60.
It may not be the most likely of situations to happen and the mere thought of Hyman being a 60-goal scorer might make some roll their eyes, but the math is looking surprisingly good.
Could a former Leafs player knock off Matthews and steal away perhaps the most unlikely Rocket Richard win of all time? Only time will tell.
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