Zach Hyman is back from injury and the timing could hardly be better for the Edmonton Oilers.
The 33-year-old forward has been cleared to return to the lineup Thursday night when Edmonton hosts the Vancouver Canucks in the final game of the regular season which will end his four-game absence caused by a lingering injury he declined to specify.
Depending on results across the Western Conference, Edmonton could finish anywhere from first in the Pacific Division all the way down to the second wild card spot. Win, and they likely secure home-ice advantage for the first round. Lose in regulation with the wrong bounces elsewhere and they could be headed to Colorado.
Zach Hyman admits his injury was getting worse until it got better
It’s exactly the kind of must-win environment Hyman thrives in. Now, with the playoffs a day away, he’s back on Connor McDavid’s wing and, by all accounts, ready.
“It’s never easy to sit out and not play games,” Hyman told reporters after a full practice at Rogers Place on Wednesday. “It was something that was lingering and just wanted to get it taken care of. It was getting worse. Now it’s better, or getting better, and it feels good.”
What makes Hyman’s return so timely is everything else he brings with the gaol scoring. Coach Kris Knoblauch put it plainly on Wednesday.
“It’s nice having a big-time goal scorer back in your lineup, especially after the last two games where we’ve fallen a little short. Played well, but not been able to put the puck in the net. That’s what Zach is really good at.”
Zach Hyman Playoff Performer
But Hyman himself knows his value goes beyond the scoresheet, especially in April. Asked about the physicality the Oilers have tried to build with additions, he was measured but clear about what playoff hockey demands.
“You don’t want to just have a team of guys who are looking to go around crazy and hit and not play hockey,” he said. “In the playoffs there’s a combination that needs to be played, sound hockey offensively, defensively but you can add a layer of physicality to that game.”
He speaks from experience. His 2025 playoff run, before the injury ended it, was just that combination of relentlessness on the forecheck, dangerous in front of the net and willing to absorb punishment to gain an inch of ice. He was Edmonton’s heartbeat before the wrist gave out.
“In the playoffs, the physical toll is reciprocal,” he added. “You can make a hit in the first couple games and see the result in Game five or six with a turnover, or someone’s tired. You can just outwear the other team.”
One game to find his legs
There was a reason Hyman and the coaching staff wanted him back for Thursday rather than waiting to debut in Game one of the playoffs.
“Definitely wanted to get one in before,” he said. “I missed a couple last year before [the playoffs] and then… yeah, it’s good to get back into the rhythm of things.”
He’ll slot back onto Connor McDavid’s right wing where he’s spent the better part of four seasons. Their line has been one of the most dangerous in the NHL when healthy, and getting Hyman a full game of game-speed reps before the puck drops on Saturday’s playoff opener is about more than just rust-shaking.
“I want to be playing my best in the playoffs,” he said simply. “That’s what this was all about.”
The exact piece Edmonton were missing last year
Hyman’s return matters so much this year if you look back to May 27, 2025, Game four of the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars. Edmonton was rolling, Zach Hyman was having one of the most physically dominant playoff runs in recent memory, ranking among league leaders in hits through 15 games. Then came the collision with Stars forward Mason Marchment, and Hyman immediately dropped his stick.
A dislocated right wrist. Surgery the next day. His season and his bid for a Stanley Cup was over.
He watched Game five from home. McDavid and Draisaitl FaceTimed him from the winning dressing room in Dallas after the Oilers punched their ticket to a second straight Cup Final, wanting him to know he was still part of it. It was, by his own admission, one of the hardest moments of his career.
He didn’t play a single minute of the Stanley Cup Final that followed. He eventually returned from the wrist surgery in November and went on to produce 31 goals and 51 points in just 57 games at a 1.63 goals-per-60 rate that ranks among the best in the league.
But this latest absence, caused by a different lingering issue he declined to specify, cost him the last four games of the regular season where the Oilers went 1–1–2 without him.
The right kind of player at the right time
The Oilers are looking to reach their third consecutive Western Conference Final appearance in recent memory with a team that, on paper, has the tools to go deep again. But they’ve been tested. Draisaitl has been skating and inching toward a potential first-round return. Hyman is back. The defence remains a question mark that’s lingered all season.
What isn’t a question is what Hyman means to this team beyond the box score. Thursday night against Vancouver is just one game. For Zach Hyman, it’s the first step back toward what he couldn’t finish last spring.
The Oilers host the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night at Rogers Place. Puck drop is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET.
