BLOG: Hyman hopes to hit the ground running before the playoffs

EDMONTON, AB – Zach Hyman was prepared to take the time he needed to be ready to go for another long playoff run, and now, he's in a hurry to do everything he has to on Thursday as a final checkpoint.

Despite only one game left on the schedule, the return of Zach Hyman couldn’t come at a better time for the star winger, who's expected to return from a five-game injury absence against the 32nd-place Canucks on Thursday night at Rogers Place.

“It looks like it,” Hyman said. “I'm excited to be back.”

The Oilers will be fighting for valuable late-season positioning in Game 82 of the campaign, with their potential opponents as of Wednesday including Anaheim, Vegas, Los Angeles, Utah and Colorado and possible playoff finishes ranging from first place in the Pacific Division to the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

This will be far from a routine tune-up game for Hyman & the Oilers as they look to give themselves the best chance to finish as high as possible in the standings, and the return of one of their top forwards will go a long way in making that happen and boosting their offence that scored one goal or less in four of the five games he was out.

“It's kind of crazy,” Hyman said after Wednesday’s practice at Rogers Place. “Just gotta win.  That's it. It's been a crazy year for that. If Vegas loses, you can either win the division, or you could be playing in Colorado. So it's quite the swing.”

“I definitely wanted to get in one before [the playoffs]. I missed a couple last year before as well, so it’s good to get back into the rhythm of things.”

Hyman reacquainted himself with Connor McDavid and Matt Savoie on Edmonton’s top line during Wednesday’s practice ahead of Thursday’s visit from the Canucks to Rogers Place, where a win would guarantee the Oilers one of the top three spots in the Pacific.

“From a team perspective, just surviving, grinding and picking up wins,” Hyman said. “I thought the teams played really well. I think defensively, our game is right there. You want to be playing meaningful games down the stretch, because these are like playoff games, and we're pretty comfortable with those types of games.”

With the added physicality that comes with the playoffs, Hyman had to make sure he was 100 percent fit for the assignment – not only for himself, but for the entire team's benefit too, as they look to get back to the Stanley Cup Final for a third straight year.

Hyman is positive that if it were a playoff game last week, he would've been in the lineup, but the playoffs take precedent and protecting his health was the priority.

"You want to be playing your best in the playoffs," he said. "Having said that, if I felt like I could play in the regular season, I wouldn't just sit out games. I don't like doing that. So it's not something that I was just kind of sitting out.

"It was taking care of something to make sure that I'm able to contribute at the level that you need to in order to make sure that the team has success in the playoffs. I play a little bit more physical, obviously, so I gotta make sure that I'm ready to play at that level."

The Oilers have been missing Hyman both at even strength and on the power play, having scored 31 goals in 57 games (10 with the man advantage), but it was important for both the player & the club to make sure the winger would be operating at 100 percent during the playoffs – especially after he suffered a wrist injury in last year's Western Conference Final that led to him missing the first 19 games of the regular season.

"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 and played well, but we haven't been able to put the puck in the net. That's what Zach is really good at," Coach Knoblauch said.

"If it were a week ago and we were in the playoffs, I don't think he would have sat any time out.  But we wanted him healthy and ready for the playoffs. We also feel that Zach felt comfortable getting a game in before he hits the playoffs, and he's cleared and healthy.  So I think that's a good idea to put him in and see what he can do. 

"It's not just him finding his game and getting ready for the playoffs. Tomorrow is a very important game for us, and he will help us win."