Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch also felt it was just a matter of time for his top goal-scorer last season to get off the mark. Only Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (69) and Florida Panthers forward Sam Reinhart (57) had more goals than Hyman last season.
“He’s had more expected goals this year than he had last year, he just hadn’t been able to finish,” Knoblauch said. “For him to score that goal (in Nashville), I saw our bench very excited that it went in and usually on a 5-1 goal late in the game, there is not that much emotion, but for that one there was. The guys were very happy for him.”
Hyman’s resurgence has come at an opportune time for Edmonton, which will be without captain Connor McDavid for the next 2-3 weeks.
McDavid injured his ankle 37 seconds into a 6-1 loss at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Nov. 28. The game against the Devils on Monday will be the third without him in the lineup.
New Jersey (7-5-2) is playing the final of a three-game Western Canada road trip. The Devils have not played since losing 3-0 at the Flames on Friday.
“Obviously whenever you lose the best player in the world, your team takes a hit, but I think collectively as a group, we’ve all gotten a little bit better, which has helped,” Hyman said. “Winning the last two games is great and we have a big one tomorrow.”
Before the win against Nashville, Edmonton was 20-26-10 without McDavid in his 10 NHL seasons. The Oilers feel better equipped to deal with an injury to their best player this season than they have in the past.
“I think there has been collectively, an effort from guys to step up in his absence,” Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. “It’s very nice to see [Viktor Arvidsson] is getting goals, ‘Hys’ (Hyman) is getting goals, Jeff Skinner’s getting goals and obviously Leon [Draisaitl] is leading the way.”
Draisaitl has six points (three goals, three assists) in the two games without McDavid. He had a goal and two assists against Calgary after two goals and an assist against Nashville.
“That’s why we’re where we are as a team that wants to win the Stanley Cup. We have two of the best players in the world,” Hyman said. “We probably have the best player in the world on any given night between the two of them, they always say that to each other. If one goes down the other steps up. We’ve been fortunate since I’ve been here that it hasn’t been prolonged injuries for anybody, but if that happens, we have a lot of great players that can step up.”
The Oilers have Stanley Cup aspirations this season after getting to Game 7 of the Final last season, losing 2-1 to the Panthers. They got off to a slow start but have won four of their past five games and at 6-5-1 have moved into a three-way tie for third in the Pacific Division with the Vancouver Canucks (5-2-3) and Flames (6-5-1).
Edmonton could be forced to play between 10-12 games without McDavid.
“I think it gives everybody in the room an opportunity to step up and play a little bit better,” Hyman said. “I think it’s a good thing for this team if everybody is playing a little bit better and then you’re adding Connor McDavid to the lineup when he comes back. The hope is that he comes back to a better team than he left.”
