Zach Hyman leaving game 4 after his injury forced the Edmonton Oilers to shuffle their lines mid-game and heading into Game 5 with the Oilers leading the series 3-1, the status of their one time 54-goal scorer was revealed this morning, and it is not good.
Before the injury, the Oilers had been rolling four stable forward lines:
RNH – McDavid – Hyman
Podkolzin – Draisaitl – Perry
Kane – Henrique – Kapanen
Frederic – Janmark – Arvidsson
This configuration gave the Oilers a potent top six while maintaining defensive responsibility and physicality in the bottom six. Hyman’s presence next to Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins brought speed, finishing ability, and relentless forechecking, traits that are hard to replicate.
With Hyman out, the Oilers were forced to improvise mid-game. One potential solution for Game 5 is to promote Corey Perry to the top line. While Perry lacks Hyman’s speed, his vision and ability to make plays around the net could help sustain offensive pressure. Another option is shifting Evander Kane to McDavid’s wing.
If Kane is elevated, that would open a hole on the third line, which could be filled by someone like Mattias Janmark, with another bottom-six winger sliding up in turn. One name to keep an eye on is Connor Brown, he missed Game 4 but may be ready to return for Game 5. If healthy, Brown could slot into the bottom six and give the Oilers much-needed flexibility.
There is also the potential for Kris Knoblauch to put Jeff Skinner back into the lineup, while Skinner's defensive game needs to be better, he can't prove that he is better without actually getting into the lineup. He has proven that he can score goals, so putting him a look in the top six could be an option.
A potential Game 5 forward group without Hyman might look like this:
RNH – McDavid – Perry
Podkolzin – Draisaitl – Arvidsson
Kane – Henrique – Kapanen
Frederic – Janmark – Brown
On the back end, Edmonton’s defensive pairings have been:
Kulak – Bouchard
Nurse – Stecher
Walman – Klingberg
But there’s a chance Mattias Ekholm returns in Game 5. If he’s ready, the Oilers could opt for 11 forwards and 7 defensemen setup. This would allow Ekholm to be eased back into the lineup while maintaining flexibility to double-shift McDavid or Draisaitl in key moments.
Hyman’s status will be the biggest storyline heading into Game 5, but the Oilers have shown all season they can adapt, and they’ll need to again if they want to regain control of the series.