Oilers' Hyman quietly on pace to break career high in goals
Edmonton Oilers forward Zach Hyman has quietly emerged as the team’s top goal-scorer this season.
After finishing fourth on the team in scoring last season with 83 points, the former 2010 fifth-round pick has had an excellent start to this season. Through 14 games, he is currently second on the team, behind only Leon Draisaitl, in scoring with eight goals and 14 points.
Those eight goals actually lead the team ahead of Draisaitl’s six. This has Hyman on pace for 47 goals this season, which would break his career-high of 36 last season.
A NATURAL HAT TRICK IN THE FIRST PERIOD?! Yes, Zach Hyman did that! 💪
Hat Trick Challenge presented by @AstraZeneca pic.twitter.com/uIseoIbMTK
— NHL (@NHL) November 12, 2023
A strong narrative that arose following Edmonton’s elimination from the 2023 NHL Playoffs was that the team had squandered a few incredible seasons from their top players. Both Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had career years that saw them set new personal bests in goals, assists, and points.
The likelihood, according to some, was that the Oilers would be hard-pressed to get the same amount of production from both players in consecutive seasons.
While Nugent-Hopkins is not off to the 104-point pace he set last season, Hyman is tracking to get fairly close to the 83 points he accomplished in 2022-23. He’s on a point-per-game pace that, if sustained, would land him at 82 points.
There is also the fact that Hyman has not had any of his goals disallowed this season, which happened at least seven different times last year. If those had counted, he would have easily eclipsed the 40-goal mark last season.
The power-play is going to be where Hyman will get the most opportunity to put the puck in the net. He has been a menace in the team’s last two games, scoring the game-winner in both games while acting as the net-front presence.
It's @ZachHyman with his fourth goal in the last two games to give the @EdmontonOilers the lead! 🟠🔵
📺: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/sEijvXhbA1 pic.twitter.com/Mief8C5286
— NHL (@NHL) November 14, 2023
Now, will Hyman challenge the 50-goal plateau and continue to score at a 47-goal pace? Most likely not, but the fact of the matter is that he has shown that last season’s 36 mark was no fluke and that he could absolutely set a career-high in goals.
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