The Edmonton Oilers won the opening game of their playoff campaign, which was the first time they’ve won a Game 1 since the second round of the the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. Yes, that feels like a lifetime ago and was truly a completely different era of Oilers hockey—it was the end of the Decade of Darkness.
A big part of why the Oilers won Game 1 this time around came from their highly dangerous offence, which boasts one of the league’s best when it comes to getting high-danger shots. The Oilers have prioritised high-percentage shots in the net-front area and arguably no player has benefited from this system more than Zach Hyman.
After scoring 54 goals in the regular season, Hyman opened the playoffs with a hat trick performance and notched his name in Oilers playoff history.
Oilers hat tricks in the playoffs
Hyman’s hat trick makes him just the sixth Oiler to score a hat trick in a playoff series for Edmonton in the 21st century. Here is the full list with all data per Hockey-Reference.com.
| Player | Date | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Weight | 2000-04-16 | DAL | 5-2 |
| Bill Guerin | 2000-04-18 | DAL | 3-4 |
| Leon Draisaitl | 2017-05-07 | ANA | 7-1 |
| Connor McDavid | 2020-08-03 | CHI | 6-3 |
| Evander Kane | 2022-05-06 | LAK | 8-2 |
| Evander Kane | 2022-05-22 | CGY | 4-1 |
| Leon Draisaitl | 2023-05-03 | VGK | 4-6 |
| Zach Hyman | 2024-04-22 | LAK | 7-4 |
Between Doug Weight and Bill Guerin scoring back-to-back hat tricks in 2000, the Oilers would then have to wait over 17 years for their next playoff hat trick. Since then—and in the Oilers’ current Cup contention window—only Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, and Evander Kane have scored hat tricks.
Now Hyman entered the fray as he took his stellar regular season play and brought it right into the postseason. His hat trick was a big exclamation point for the Oilers’ opening game as it sent Rogers Place aroar. Let’s hope more can join him this year as hat trick scorers for Edmonton’s current playoff run.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
