Zach Hyman, who exited in the first period of Game 4 following an awkward collision with Stars’ forward Mason Marchment, underwent surgery Wednesday morning for an upper-body injury. The 32-year-old winger is expected to miss the rest of the playoffs, per head coach Kris Knoblauch, and joins his teammates, Mattias Ekholm and Connor Brown, on the shelf for Edmonton.
Hyman played just five shifts and logged 3:11 of ice time on Thursday night but still recorded a shot on goal and two hits. He has been the tone-setter for Edmonton this postseason, leading all postseason skaters in hits. The veteran totaled five goals and 11 points in 16 games, showing consistency in a top-six role.
Hyman’s physicality will be missed as Edmonton looks to advance to the Stanley Cup Final, however. He primarily shared a 5v5 line with both Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid, which generated a +4 goal differential this postseason, good for second-best on the team. Some significant lineup shuffling is in the works for the Oilers, with players such as Vasily Podkolzin, Viktor Arvidsson, and Kasperi Kapanen likely to receive more opportunities at even strength and on the power play. Veteran Corey Perry has seen consistent ice time with the first line, too.
Edmonton holds -900 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook to win the series and advance to the Stanley Cup Final. A 2024 rematch looks rather likely, too, with the Oilers sitting right behind the Florida Panthers (+105) with +110 odds to hoist the Stanley Cup in June.
