Heading into the weekend, it appeared that Edmonton Oilers winger Zach Hyman would score his 50th goal, which he did on Sunday in Ottawa.
On Saturday, Hyman hit the half-century milestone in perhaps the most fitting way possible, scoring for the 49th time in the third period of a loss against his former team, Toronto.
With the Oilers on a power play in the second period, Hyman positioned himself to the side of the net, close to the right of Senators goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, after winning a faceoff. The ball was sent back to defenseman Evan Bouchard, who found captain Connor McDavid on the right side. McDavid swiftly zipped a pass to Hyman for a tap-in, his fourth goal in the previous three games.
Leon Draisaitl was the first to embrace Hyman, who lifted his arms in delight after scoring the goal. Draisaitl hugged him first, followed by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Bouchard, before McDavid went to grab the historic puck.
Hyman is one of the most unexpected 50-goal scorers in NHL history, given his age (31), selection position (No. 123 in the fifth round in 2010), and minimal past scoring (his personal best was 36 goals last season).
Prior to signing a seven-year, $5.5 million average annual contract with the Oilers in the 2021 summer, he had a career high of 21 goals in a season with the Maple Leafs.
“If you stick with it and are always positive, things tend to go your way,” Hyman told Principe. “Just work hard and I hope it’s a good lesson out there for all the kids who aren’t the best and are just out there working hard.”
Hyman’s goal put the Oilers up 3-1, but they were defeated 5-3 by the Senators, their second loss in as many nights, dropping their record to 42-23-4 on the season.
