‘He’s a wrecking ball:’ How Zach Hyman has embraced his physical edge in the playoffs at a record-setting pace

We can talk all we want about Stuart Skinner’s playoffs, or how Connor McDavid’s offensive dominance returned in Game 3, or how Leon Draisaitl’s been used in a shutdown role, but one story flying under the radar is that of Zach Hyman’s.

It was undoubtedly a regular season of regression for him after racking up 54 goals in the reguar season and another 16 in the playoffs last year, as his goal scoring numbers dipped back down to 27 this regular season. He continued to be around the action all season, though, generating 37.8 individual expected goals, over six more than the second placed Leon Draisaitl.

And despite a two-goal performance in Game 3 that boosted his playoff goal total to five, there’s another element of his game that’s catching people’s eyes: his physicality.

Through the Oilers’ first 14 playoff games, he’s laid a staggering 109 hits, averaging an almost hard-to-believe 7.8 per game. That number ties the second most he laid in a single regular season, and is just nine off his career high of 117, which he laid in 82 games in the 2017-18 season with the Toronto Maple Leafs — that’s 1.4 per game, for those counting at home.

His total in these playoffs is 31 over the second-placed Sam Bennett, and people around him are taking notice.

“It’s impressive to watch, amazing to watch, and I get a front row seat to it every night,” said his linemate, Oilers captain Connor McDavid, after Sunday’s Game 3. “He’s a wrecking ball out there right now.

“Everybody’s buying in, though and doing things that maybe aren’t the most comfortable thing, or the thing they’re most used to doing, and obviously he’s leading the way that way.”

Since the NHL began tracking hits in 2007-08, there’s only six players who have laid more hits in a single postseason than Hyman: Brooks Orpik (2008-09, 112 hits, 24 games), Cedric Paquette (2019-2, 112 hits, 25 games), Jamie Oleksiak (2019-20, 117 hits, 27 games), Darren Helm (2008-09, 118 hits, 23 games), Dustin Brown (2013-14, 125 hits, 26 games) and Blake Coleman (2019-20, 126 hits, 25 games).

If you look at the 352 players since 2007-08 who have laid over 50 hits in a single postseason and average them out per game, Hyman’s current per game hit rate ranks first among all of them.

One team in the league long known for their physical nature has been the Boston Bruins — an organization which, since 2007-08, ranks sixth in the league in regular season hits, and is first in playoff hits over that time.

Trent Frederic knows what it takes to play that style of game, having been a physical force in his own right since he entered the league in 2018-19 before the Oilers acquired him ahead of the deadline.

“I think it’s similar to blue collar cities, and that’s what they want to see,” said Trent Frederic Monday, when asked if he sees some Bruin in the Oilers’ game. “Hyms has been a great example of that.

“I was sitting on the bench thinking about how good of a player he was yesterday, then he’s plus-five with 10 hits. It’s pretty awesome to watch.”

And while he’s out there laying his body on the line, he’s also putting up points, not totalling five goals and 11 points in 14 games — a 0.79 points per game rate that paces the aforementioned 14.

At his current pace, Hyman will break the playoff hit record at some point during Game 5 against the Dallas Stars. Then? It’s all his to continue to build on.