Latest news with #Knoblauch
Global News
4 days ago
- Sport
- Global News
Edmonton Oilers winger Zach Hyman ‘most likely done' for the playoffs after Game 4 injury
Zach Hyman's coach and teammates had been raving about his contributions. The grinding winger for the Edmonton Oilers wasn't putting the puck in the net at the same rate. A combined goals 70 in the 2023-24 regular-season and playoffs is a tough act for any player to follow. His contributions, however, weren't going unnoticed. The heart-and-soul forward led the Stanley Cup playoffs in hits, continued to chip in offensively on the top line with superstar captain Connor McDavid, and set a workhorse-like example. Hyman's value to the Oilers can't be overstated. They now have to push on without him. Head coach Kris Knoblauch said Wednesday the 32-year-old was set have surgery and is 'most likely done' for the playoffs after getting injured in Edmonton's 4-1 victory over Dallas in Game 4 of the NHL's Western Conference final. Story continues below advertisement Hyman was hurt midway through Tuesday's first period when he took a glancing hit from Stars forward Mason Marchment in the neutral zone. Edmonton's No. 18 dropped his stick and made a beeline for the locker room favouring his right arm. The Toronto native led the post-season with 111 hits — 29 more than second-place Sam Bennett of the Florida Panthers — when he was injured, to go along with five goals and six assists. 'He's put everything out there,' said Knoblauch, who declined to add specifics on the nature of Hyman's injury. 'Scoring key goals, but the physical department, how many hits he had and his two-way play was tremendous. 'Now that we're going to be missing him, we're going to need other guys to step up.' Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Now that we're going to be missing him, we're going to need other guys to step up." Edmonton, which leads the best-of-seven series 3-1 and can book a second consecutive trip to the Cup final with a victory Thursday in Dallas, could pivot to veteran forwards Jeff Skinner or Derek Ryan as Hyman's replacement on the roster. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Knoblauch sprinkled depth wingers Trent Frederic and Corey Perry on the top line alongside McDavid after Hyman went down, and also praised the contributions of Viktor Arvidsson, who entered the lineup with fellow winger Connor Brown (undisclosed) out for Game 4. 'Played the way we want him to,' Knoblauch said. 'We'll need more of that from Viktor.' Story continues below advertisement The Oilers were fortunate on the injury front last season on the way to making it all the way to Game 7 of the Cup final against the Florida Panthers. They also largely dodged torn muscles, injured joints and broken bones in 2024-25, but the floodgates opened late in the schedule with McDavid, Hyman, centre Leon Draisaitl and defenceman Mattias Ekholm all missing time. Ekholm, normally a top-pair defenceman alongside Evan Bouchard, remains out and hasn't played in the playoffs, but is nearing a return. 'Zach's going to be huge hole,' Knoblauch said. '(We) have a lot of depth that guys can come in and step up.' 'We were very fortunate to have the depth that we had (last season),' he added. 'This year we're probably a little step above that.' Story continues below advertisement The Oilers also know they will need to get to another level Thursday with the Stars facing elimination. Edmonton was on its heels early in Game 4 and could have easily been trailing if not for another outstanding performance from goaltender Stuart Skinner. The sense of urgency in the Dallas locker room is a feeling the Oilers know all about after coming back from a 3-0 deficit in last year's Cup final before falling just short in Game 7. 'It brought out the best of our team, playing with a lot of desperation and focus and just laying it on the line every single shift,' Knoblauch said. 'We can't control what the other team's going to do, but what we can control is how we play and how we handle those circumstances. 'We're going to have to be prepared.' Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We're going to have to be prepared." Those preparations won't include Hyman. BROWN OUT Knoblauch said Brown won't play Thursday, but is trending in the right direction after taking a huge hit from Stars defenceman Alexander Petrovic in Game 3. 'He's doing well,' Knoblauch said. 'We hope that he can come in shortly after that.' NOT LOOKING AHEAD Knoblauch was asked if there's any worry of his players peeking over the horizon at the Eastern Conference final, which had the Panthers up 3-1 on the Carolina Hurricanes heading into Wednesday's Game 5 in Raleigh, N.C. Story continues below advertisement 'I don't even know what's going on in the East,' said the Oilers' second-year coach. 'We've got a heck of a series here against Dallas, and we have one more win to get to. If we're fortunate to get that last win, then we'll be preparing for that next team. 'But right now, all our attention is on the Dallas Stars.' Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "But right now, all our attention is on the Dallas Stars."
Calgary Herald
4 days ago
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
Zach Hyman 'likely done' for remainder of playoffs for Edmonton Oilers
Article content Knoblauch moved his forward chess pieces around the board expertly for the last two and a half periods, with players farther down the lineup like Kasperi Kapanen and Viktor Arvidsson, in for Brown, stepping up. Article content But, they are now down two of their top three right-wingers. Article content What do they do for Game 5 in Dallas? Article content They could potentially go 11 and 7, bring defenceman Mattias Ekholm back for his first game in over six weeks — they have been winning so haven't needed him even as he's gotten healthier — and go a forward short. Article content In Game 4, Leon Draisaitl played over eight minutes in the third as Knoblauch kept throwing him out there, up a goal in the nail-biter until the empty-netters by Kapanen and Adam Henrique. Article content Right now, the extra healthy forwards are left-winger Jeff Skinner, who played the first game of playoffs in Los Angeles but that's all, centre Derek Ryan and winger Max Jones, who haven't dressed in post-season. Article content Article content So, it's an issue. Article content The Oilers overcame the injury to Hyman in Game 4, shutting the door in the third period, holding the Stars to just four shots — the second straight playoff game they've done that. They got the win in the highly-entertaining game because goalie Stu Skinner saved them in the first 20 minutes with his 16 stops but the Hyman loss looms large. Article content 'Not having him? It's massive… he's a huge piece, a key piece. After every period, he's never too high, never too low. He is a cliché. He grinds, he does the little things right. He's a leader in our room,' said Skinner. Article content Nugent-Hopkins, who the first NHL player in 35 years to record multiple points in the first four games of a Conference Final, is a leader, too. But, Hyman has brought something black and blue to the playoff stage with all those hits. Article content 'You've seen his physicality, it's important to our game,' said Nugent-Hopkins Article content Article content 'We're going to need it from other people filling the gap, obviously, in however many games we have left and we'll wait to see about Zach. Everybody wants to step up, everybody's chomping at the bit to get out there. Tonight, it felt like we were doing this for Zach, getting the job done for him.' Article content Hyman is on the first line with Connor McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins, their best player in this series (nine points in four games). He also alternates net-front on the power play with Corey Perry, who scored there in Game 4 and also is on the third forward pair on the penalty kill with McDavid. Article content 'He means everything to us, he's a workhorse, a dog on a bone on the puck. The way he was forechecking and hitting and finishing like he was in Game 3, that's Zach Hyman,' said Perry. Article content So we'll see what Knoblauch's plan is for Game 5 Thursday. The Oilers defence corps have been terrific, but maybe they finally give Ekholm a seat at the table after not playing since April 11 and go with seven D and 11 forwards. Article content Or maybe they bring Jeff Skinner into the picture? He would seem to have a leg up on Ryan or Jones. Article content 'Going into the third period I had the luxury of double-shifting Leon. The conversation with him was 'get prepared to play a lot of minutes,'' said Knoblauch. Article content 'Podkolzin, Kapanen, (Mattias) Janmark picked up where they left off earlier in the playoff run. (Trent) Frederic is new to us and starting to contribute. Everybody stepped up and the defence also did a very good job moving the pucks out so we didn't have to be in the defensive zone, as much.' Article content Draisaitl came away very impressed. Article content 'I thought we dealt with it well (no Hyman). Guys farther down the lineup had elevated minutes. Arvy, Kappy they stuck out. They were really good,' he said. Article content Pivotal face-off win Article content The Oilers were badly beaten in the face-off circle (Oilers won just 39 per cent) in the game but Draisaitl won a pivotal draw in the Oilers end to help set up the Kapanen goal with two and a half minutes left. Article content Article content 'I certainly felt I was struggling a bit on the face-off dot (9-9). They're a good face-off team, they have righty-lefty everywhere and that helps a lot, but there were numerous little plays on that (empty-net) goal. It's like a domino effect,' said Draisaitl. Article content 'Nurse with a really good pick, Kulak with good patience and a high flip, a great read by Kapanen. Just a lot of smart hockey plays and a big goal for us.' Article content This 'n that Article content Oilers forward Evander Kane also missed the last five or six minutes of the second period, leaving the bench for an undisclosed reason, but the winer was back for the third, and played four minutes. Article content Bouchard gave a cheeky slash to the same left foot of Roope Hintz, the same foot that Nurse whacked in Game 2 which had Hintz in a foul verbal mood. Hintz missed Game 3 but played 17 minutes and was 10-5 on face-offs Tuesday. Article content Article content
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
'A key piece': Oilers top Stars in Game 4, lose workhorse winger Zach Hyman to injury
EDMONTON — Zach Hyman has lowered the boom on opponents all spring. The workhorse winger for the Edmonton Oilers led the NHL — by a wide margin — with 109 playoff hits entering Tuesday night. Hyman found himself on the receiving end early in Game 4 of the NHL's Western Conference final. It didn't look good. Hyman left midway through the first period of Edmonton's 4-1 victory over Dallas that gave the Oilers a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series after taking a glancing hit from Stars winger Mason Marchment coming out of the defensive zone. The 32-year-old dropped his stick, clearly favouring his right arm, and made a beeline for the bench before heading down the tunnel to Edmonton's locker room with the team's medical staff. Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch didn't have an update post-game following a result that moved his group within one win of another trip to the Stanley Cup final. "Everyone stepped up," he added. "Go through the lineup … I liked how everyone just played a little bit better." Knoblauch distributed Hyman's minutes among his forward depth, with both Trent Frederic and Corey Perry seeing time on superstar captain Connor McDavid's wing through two periods. Edmonton's bench boss then leaned heavily on Leon Draisaitl in the third by double-shifting the big centre as Edmonton squeezed the life out of Dallas with a front-foot approach. "You're not just going to make that up," Draisaitl, who had a goal and an assist, said of Hyman's absence. "But collectively, I think we have what it takes to make up for it." Hyman started the night at Rogers Place with 27 more post-season hits than Florida Panthers centre Sam Bennett — No. 2 on the list — to go along with five goals and six assists. The 32-year-old Toronto native, who added two more hits to his tally before exiting Tuesday, scored 54 times last season before adding 16 more in the playoffs as part of the Oilers' run to the final, where they lost to the Florida Panthers in seven games. A free-agent signing in the summer of 2021 after six campaigns with the Maple Leafs, Hyman registered 27 goals and 17 assists for 44 points across 73 games in 2024-25. "It's a big loss," said Edmonton forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who had another two assists to give him nine points in the series. "He's a big part of our team, on and off the ice, the way he does things. You've seen his physicality. "It's important to our game, but other guys have already stepped up and tried to fill that gap." The Oilers more than doubled the Stars with 50 hits Tuesday. Vasily Podkolzin led the way with eight, while Kasperi Kapanen added seven. Knoblauch also pointed to the reunited line of Podkolzin, Mattias Janmark and Viktor Arvidsson helping to pick up the slack. "I thought we dealt with it good," Draisaitl said. "The guys that were maybe a little further down the lineup, obviously got their minutes elevated a little bit." Edmonton, which has weathered the storm on the back end in these playoffs with the soon-to-be-healthy blueliner Mattias Ekholm sidelined, was already dealing with one injury up front after Connor Brown took a huge hit in Sunday's big 6-1 victory in Game 3. The Oilers could elect to go with 11 forwards and seven defencemen in Game 5 on Thursday night if their two injured wingers can't go and Ekholm is ready. "He's a huge piece, a key piece," Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner, who put in another outstanding effort with 28 saves, said of Hyman. "He is a cliché. He is a hard-worker, he grinds, he does the little things right, and on top of that, he's an amazing human being. "Everyone loves that guy." Perry, who at age 40 has seen a lot of hockey, said Hyman is "a dog-on-the-bone" for Edmonton. "He wants the puck," said the 2007 Cup champ with Anaheim. "If he doesn't have it, he's chasing it down. That's Zach Hyman hockey." The Oilers had to do without his relentless approach in Game 4. How long that lasts will come into better focus before the team boards a plane Wednesday just 60 minutes from another appearance in the final. "Guys are ready to step up," Nugent-Hopkins said. "Everybody's just chomping at the bit to get out there. "Part of it felt like we were doing it for Zach." This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2025. Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Oilers' Zach Hyman leaves Game 4 after hit from Stars' Mason Marchment
EDMONTON, Alberta — Zach Hyman has lowered the boom on opponents all spring. The workhorse winger for the Edmonton Oilers by a wide margin led the NHL with 109 playoff hits entering Tuesday night. Hyman found himself on the receiving end early in Game 4 of the NHL's Western Conference final and it didn't look good. Hyman left midway through the first period of Edmonton's 4-1 victory over Dallas that gave the Oilers a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series after taking a glancing hit from Stars winger Mason Marchment coming out of the defensive zone. He dropped his stick, clearly favoring his right arm, and made a beeline for the bench before heading to Edmonton's locker room with the team's medical staff. Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch didn't have a postgame update following a result that moved his team within one win of another trip to the Stanley Cup final. 'Everyone stepped up,' he added. 'Go through the lineup … I liked how everyone just played a little bit better.' Knoblauch distributed Hyman's minutes among his forward depth, with both Trent Frederic and Corey Perry seeing time on captain Connor McDavid's wing through two periods. Edmonton's bench boss then leaned heavily on Leon Draisaitl in the third by double-shifting the big center as Edmonton squeezed the life out of Dallas. 'You're not just going to make that up,' Draisaitl, who had a goal and an assist, said of Hyman's absence. 'But collectively, I think we have what it takes to make up for it.' Hyman started the night with 27 more postseason hits than Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett to go along with five goals and six assists. Hyman, who added two more hits to his tally before exiting Tuesday, scored 54 times last season before adding 16 more in the playoffs as part of the Oilers' run to the final, where they lost to the Florida Panthers in seven games. A free-agent signing in the summer of 2021 after six seasons with the Maple Leafs, Hyman had 27 goals and 17 assists for 44 points across 73 games in 2024-25. 'It's a big loss,' said Edmonton forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who had another two assists to give him nine points in the series. 'He's a big part of our team, on and off the ice, the way he does things. You've seen his physicality. 'It's important to our game, but other guys have already stepped up and tried to fill that gap.' The Oilers more than doubled the Stars with 50 hits Tuesday. Vasily Podkolzin led the way with eight, while Kasperi Kapanen added seven. Knoblauch also pointed to the reunited line of Podkolzin, Mattias Janmark and Viktor Arvidsson helping to pick up the slack. 'I thought we dealt with it good,' Draisaitl said. 'The guys that were maybe a little further down the lineup, obviously got their minutes elevated a little bit.' Edmonton, which has weathered the storm on the back end in these playoffs with the soon-to-be-healthy blue liner Mattias Ekholm sidelined, was already dealing with one injury up front after Connor Brown took a huge hit in Sunday's 6-1 victory in Game 3. The Oilers could elect to go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen in Game 5 on Thursday night if their two injured wingers can't go and Ekholm is ready. 'He's a huge piece, a key piece,' Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner, who put in another outstanding effort with 28 saves, said of Hyman. 'He is a cliché. He is a hard worker, he grinds, he does the little things right, and on top of that, he's an amazing human being. Perry, who at age 40 has seen a lot of hockey, said Hyman is 'a dog-on-the-bone' for Edmonton. 'He wants the puck,' he said. 'If he doesn't have it, he's chasing it down. That's Zach Hyman hockey.' The Oilers had to do without his relentless approach in Game 4. How long that lasts will come into better focus before the team boards a plane Wednesday just 60 minutes from another appearance in the final. 'Guys are ready to step up,' Nugent-Hopkins said. 'Everybody's just chomping at the bit to get out there. 'Part of it felt like we were doing it for Zach.' NHL playoffs: /hub/stanley-cup and /hub/nhl
Hamilton Spectator
4 days ago
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
‘A key piece': Oilers top Stars in Game 4, lose workhorse winger Zach Hyman to injury
EDMONTON - Zach Hyman has lowered the boom on opponents all spring. The workhorse winger for the Edmonton Oilers led the NHL — by a wide margin — with 109 playoff hits entering Tuesday night. Hyman found himself on the receiving end early in Game 4 of the NHL's Western Conference final. It didn't look good. Hyman left midway through the first period of Edmonton's 4-1 victory over Dallas that gave the Oilers a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series after taking a glancing hit from Stars winger Mason Marchment coming out of the defensive zone. The 32-year-old dropped his stick, clearly favouring his right arm, and made a beeline for the bench before heading down the tunnel to Edmonton's locker room with the team's medical staff. Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch didn't have an update post-game following a result that moved his group within one win of another trip to the Stanley Cup final. 'Everyone stepped up,' he added. 'Go through the lineup … I liked how everyone just played a little bit better.' Knoblauch distributed Hyman's minutes among his forward depth, with both Trent Frederic and Corey Perry seeing time on superstar captain Connor McDavid's wing through two periods. Edmonton's bench boss then leaned heavily on Leon Draisaitl in the third by double-shifting the big centre as Edmonton squeezed the life out of Dallas with a front-foot approach. 'You're not just going to make that up,' Draisaitl, who had a goal and an assist, said of Hyman's absence. 'But collectively, I think we have what it takes to make up for it.' Hyman started the night at Rogers Place with 27 more post-season hits than Florida Panthers centre Sam Bennett — No. 2 on the list — to go along with five goals and six assists. The 32-year-old Toronto native, who added two more hits to his tally before exiting Tuesday, scored 54 times last season before adding 16 more in the playoffs as part of the Oilers' run to the final, where they lost to the Florida Panthers in seven games. A free-agent signing in the summer of 2021 after six campaigns with the Maple Leafs, Hyman registered 27 goals and 17 assists for 44 points across 73 games in 2024-25. 'It's a big loss,' said Edmonton forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who had another two assists to give him nine points in the series. 'He's a big part of our team, on and off the ice, the way he does things. You've seen his physicality. 'It's important to our game, but other guys have already stepped up and tried to fill that gap.' The Oilers more than doubled the Stars with 50 hits Tuesday. Vasily Podkolzin led the way with eight, while Kasperi Kapanen added seven. Knoblauch also pointed to the reunited line of Podkolzin, Mattias Janmark and Viktor Arvidsson helping to pick up the slack. 'I thought we dealt with it good,' Draisaitl said. 'The guys that were maybe a little further down the lineup, obviously got their minutes elevated a little bit.' Edmonton, which has weathered the storm on the back end in these playoffs with the soon-to-be-healthy blueliner Mattias Ekholm sidelined, was already dealing with one injury up front after Connor Brown took a huge hit in Sunday's big 6-1 victory in Game 3. The Oilers could elect to go with 11 forwards and seven defencemen in Game 5 on Thursday night if their two injured wingers can't go and Ekholm is ready. 'He's a huge piece, a key piece,' Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner, who put in another outstanding effort with 28 saves, said of Hyman. 'He is a cliché. He is a hard-worker, he grinds, he does the little things right, and on top of that, he's an amazing human being. 'Everyone loves that guy.' Perry, who at age 40 has seen a lot of hockey, said Hyman is 'a dog-on-the-bone' for Edmonton. 'He wants the puck,' said the 2007 Cup champ with Anaheim. 'If he doesn't have it, he's chasing it down. That's Zach Hyman hockey.' The Oilers had to do without his relentless approach in Game 4. How long that lasts will come into better focus before the team boards a plane Wednesday just 60 minutes from another appearance in the final. 'Guys are ready to step up,' Nugent-Hopkins said. 'Everybody's just chomping at the bit to get out there. 'Part of it felt like we were doing it for Zach.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2025.
