Amidst a promising victory in Game 4 and now on the prowl for the Stanley Cup Finals, the Edmonton Oilers are having a big season to remember. However, Zach Hyman missing out the rest of the playoff campaign will definitely be a huge change in their pace heading into the next set of games for Edmonton.

After the Oilers walked off with a 4-1 victory at Rogers Place, fans were definitely roaring loud with just a win away. The news of Hyman missing out the rest of the season, however, is definitely not something that they have expected, especially after the winger has seen elite performances in the playoffs so far – supplanting both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the attack.

Nothing has been easy for Edmonton this season. The team struggled with injuries to their main stars, and they even had to claw their way back late in the season after a very poor start to the 2024-25 campaign. Now that there’s another injury on the sides, it seems that the Oilers will have to figure out a way to win without him moving forward.

An Unfortunate Injury

Hyman is slated to have surgery today and will be out for the remainder of the playoffs. The Oilers have not released an official report regarding the gravity of his injury, leaving it as an “upper-body” injury instead. Now the team needs to come alive and have its next man step up as they head to the gritty finish in the playoffs.

"He's put everything out there. You look at everything he's done the last two years. Last year, he scored about 70 goals and numerous big important goals in the playoffs,” Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said of Hyman’s status. “This year, he's scored key goals but the physical department, how many hits he had, his two-way play was tremendous.”

Playing 3:11 of ice time in Game 4, Hyman left the rink and was later examined by the Oilers staff after he took a tough hit from Stars forward Mason Marchment on the right shoulder. He went up to brace for impact when he was making a move on the puck, only to drop his stick after the impact and started favoring the arm.

Hyman did not return to the game after being checked by the Oilers’ staff and was later deemed out for the rest of the season.

Missing a Big Impact Player

While the Oilers have the dynamic duo of McDavid and Draisaitl, Hyman is at another level this season. He ranks first in the playoffs with 111 hits and fifth on the Edmonton squad with 11 points coming off five goals and six assists. In just 15 games, he has been making a huge impact and has been stepping up at a high level than expected.

"It's massive," Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner said. "You're missing a key player and also you go down a guy for lines, too, so extra ice time for other guys, which puts some miles on guys. The way that we responded was fantastic. You saw a lot of guys step up, skate hard, hitting guys the way that Hyman has been hitting. It's really important to respond like that when something like that happens.

Hyman has been a promising performer in the playoffs, but now the Oilers have to find ways to win without him as he will be watching from the sidelines.