EDMONTON — It didn’t take long for Oilers forward Zach Hyman to make his presence known in his return from injury.
Hyman, who missed the last five games with an injury, scored the first of two goals midway through the first period as the Oilers stormed to a 6-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.
“Being back is the best,” Hyman said. “To get a win and being able to contribute feels good.”
It hasn’t been the best start for the 32-year-old Toronto native, who came into the contest with just three goals on the heels of making a big leap forward last season with a career-high 54 goals.
Hyman said the time away nursing his injury was constructive.
“I think it was a good reset,” he said. “I obviously didn’t have the greatest start. It was a good first game back. When I say the greatest start, I just wasn’t scoring. I thought I was playing pretty good and getting looks and getting chances and whatnot. Eventually they were going to go in.”
It was Hyman’s 21st multi-goal game since joining Edmonton, eclipsing Doug Weight for 13th most in franchise history.
“Missing any time is not easy to come back, so really impressive,” said Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who had four assists in the win. “Credit to our staff, we’ve got the best medical staff here in Edmonton. And credit to (Hyman) for working and making sure he was ready to roll.
“I thought he was just sharp, good around the net, ready for it.”
McDavid became the third player in Oilers history with 10 career four-assist games, joining Wayne Gretzky (51) and Jari Kurri (10). It was his 40th career four-point night.
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said having a healthy Hyman could be key for the Oilers.
“It's nice that he took the extra time, and he's healthy and ready to contribute,” he said. “Just having that guy who can put the puck in the net is key for us.”
“He’s an elite talent. He scored, what, 70 goals last year, including the playoffs? He's a pretty good player.”
Leon Draisaitl also had two goals to move him into a tie for the league lead with 19. Mattias Ekholm and Jeff Skinner also scored for the Oilers (14-10-2), who have won four of their last five games.
Calvin Pickard was only required to make 19 stops in net for the Oilers.
Kevin Lablanc, Damon Severson and Cole Sillinger replied for the Blue Jackets (11-11-3), who have lost two straight on the heels of a 6-1-1 run.
A key moment in the contest came on Draisaitl’s goal early in the second period.
The Blue Jackets felt that Hyman interfered with goaltender Daniil Tarasov on the play and challenged the goal, but were unsuccessful. Ekholm scored on the resulting power play to put Edmonton up by a pair.
“Obviously a big moment in the game with the goalie challenge, it’s a 1-1 hockey game and by the end of the whole sequence it’s 3-1,” said Columbus coach Dean Evason. “We’re trying to get an explanation because our view is different from what they said they’ve seen.
"I don’t blame the refs because they’re looking at a little iPad. But when I came in here, our guys were adamant that he got hit in the head, he couldn’t move his stick because (Hyman) went freely in the crease, a foot and a half, so Tarasov couldn’t get over to make that save.”
Tarasov recorded 31 saves for the Blue Jackets.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2024.
Shane Jones, The Canadian Press