After winning the Western Conference in back-to-back seasons, the Edmonton Oilers are gearing up for an additional potentially deep Stanley Cup Playoff run — they usually’ll have Zach Hyman back for that quest.
The 33-year-old will actually return to the lineup before then, joining the Oilers for his or her final regular-season tilt against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night at Rogers Place, he confirmed to NHL.com.
“It’s never easy to take a seat out and to not play games,” Hyman said. “It was something that was lingering and just desired to get it taken care of. It was getting worse and now it’s higher, recuperating and it feels good.”
Hyman has suited up for just 57 games in 2025-26, but has managed 31 goals and 51 points in that span. He hasn’t played since a 3-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on April 3 resulting from an undisclosed injury.
The Oilers are going to want Hyman healthy in the event that they hope to return to the Stanley Cup Final for a 3rd straight yr; he was injured within the Western Conference Final vs. the Dallas Stars in 2025.
He’s been a terrific playoff performer over the previous couple of runs, amassing 21 goals and 33 points over 40 Stanley Cup Playoff contests between 2023-25.
The Oil may even be hoping to get superstar Leon Draisaitl back in some unspecified time in the future in Round 1; he returned to practice on Wednesday and told reporters that he’s taking his recovery in the future at a time.
Seeding continues to be very much up within the air within the Western Conference. Edmonton is currently second within the Pacific, but could win the division if the Vegas Golden Knights lose in regulation on Wednesday, they usually beat the Canucks on Thursday.
In the event that they lose in regulation to Vancouver, and all of Anaheim, Los Angeles and Utah win their final respective games, they may fall so far as the second wildcard, which might set them up for a brutal Round 1 matchup against the Colorado Avalanche.
Best-case scenario for the team is thrashing the last-place Canucks, which might ensure they finish either first or second within the Pacific and get home-ice advantage for at the very least the primary round of the playoffs.
After winning the Western Conference in back-to-back seasons, the Edmonton Oilers are gearing up for an additional potentially deep Stanley Cup Playoff run — they usually’ll have Zach Hyman back for that quest. The 33-year-old will actually return to the lineup before then, joining the Oilers for his or her final regular-season tilt against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night at Rogers Place, he confirmed to NHL.