Zach Hyman leaves his mark in the NHL record books

This is getting ridiculous now, albeit in a positive way. After being dead in the water following three games of this Stanley Cup Final, the Edmonton Oilers have risen like a phoenix from the flames, to force a deciding game seven.

If the Oilers can somehow manage to win back in Florida -- no easy feat mind -- they will become just the second team in NHL history to recover from a 3-0 series deficit to win the Stanley Cup. This is the stuff of fantasy, something that studio executives would dismiss as just too unrealistic if it landed on their desk as a movie script.

Connor McDavid would clearly by the leading man, but who would be the breakout star? Well ladies and gentlemen, we present to you Zach Hyman.

The deal of the century

Yes, Hyman's star has been rising for a while; in fact ever since he arrived in Edmonton on a seven-year, $38.5 million contract which was derided by many at the time as too much. Now though, it's looking like the deal of the century.

The 32-year-old has improved every year with the Oilers and truly become one of the most important players on the team. And with his goal on Friday night which made it 3-0 at the end of the second period, he entered rarefied air as he put his name in the record books.

Hyman has now scored 16 goals during these playoffs, which are the most by any player in a single postseason during the salary cap era. For some more context of just how remarkable this achievement is, he entered game six tied with Sidney Crosby (2009) and Alex Ovechkin (2018) on 15 goals.

As per Sportsnet, in a historical context Hyman is tied with Pavel Bure on 16 goals. The only two players to score more in a single postseason all time, are Reggie Leach with 19 and Joe Sakic with 18.

In addition, as per NHL public relations, Hyman is just the sixth player in the last 30 years to reach 70 total goals -- regular season and playoffs combined -- in a season. The others are Mario Lemieux (80 in 1995-96), Pavel Bure (76 in 1993-94), Jaromir Jagr (73 in 1995-96), McDavid (72 in 2022-23) and Auston Matthews (70 in 2023-24).

Truly remarkable accomplishments

Certainly that makes for a star-studded list, which Hyman almost looks out of place in. However, there is just no getting around how special his accomplishments are.

People can talk all they want about the Toronto native not being a natural goalscorer, and relying too much on McDavid. At some point though, you just have to accept that he might be better than anyone gave him credit for.

Hyman was like many on this Oilers team, in that he did little during the first three games of this Stanley Cup Final. He did not register a single point, in many ways highlighting how the Panthers were stiffling and outplaying them.

In the last three games however, Hyman has woken up -- as has the team -- with four points and a +5 rating. In respect of his 16 playoff goals, no one is catching him, as he has a six-goal lead over second place with the one game remaining.

Truly valuable to the Oilers

The 2010 fifth round draft pick's value to the Oilers has been clear throughout this campaign. He finished the season first on the team with 54 goals, second with a +36 rating, and having set new personal highs with a 65.2 percent Corsi For % and 65.6 percent Fenwick For % in all situations.

Of course, no matter what Hyman and the Oilers have achieved thus far, it ultimately won't matter if they don't win it all. Now though they have the opportunity to do just that after the 5-1 win in game six.

Hyman was asked about what now lies ahead. Speaking to the media in the locker room postgame, he said: "Yeah, you play to be in the Stanley Cup Finals ... there's no better game in sports than a game seven. I mean it's in the Stanley Cup Final, you can't ask for a bigger opportunity as a player and I'm sure as a fan of hockey, everybody is excited to watch it."

There's no guarantees of course -- this could turn out to be the ultimate heartbreak for the Oilers. However, if they do go on to finally end Canada's Stanley Cup drought, Hyman will be one of the main reasons why.

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