Oilers Activate Devon Levi And Zach Hyman Off IR

The Oilers will welcome back a pair of key players tonight against Vancouver.  The team announced that goaltender Devon Levi and winger Zach Hyman will be back in the lineup, meaning they have been activated off injured reserve.  To make room on the roster, goalie Matt Tomkins has been sent to AHL Bakersfield, per the NHL’s media site.

Levi was acquired this summer in GM Stan Bowman’s latest effort to try to shore up Edmonton’s goaltending position.  A summer injury to Frederik Andersen gave the 24-year-old a shot at pushing for the starting job and while it hasn’t always been pretty, he had grabbed a hold of it before being sidelined with an undisclosed injury two weeks ago.

Through seven starts this season, Levi has a 3.11 GAA with an .887 SV%.  More importantly to the Oilers, however, is that six of those games were victories as Edmonton has been able to outscore their inconsistent goaltending more often than not in the early going.  Levi’s return will sideline Tristan Jarry now although the veteran has a .942 SV% and two shutouts in his last four outings.  Accordingly, it wouldn’t be surprising to see another competition for the starting role.

As for Hyman, it has been a tough start for the veteran.  He missed six games early in the season due to a lingering upper-body injury sustained in the preseason.  Then, five games into his return, he suffered a neck injury that has kept him out for the last couple of weeks.  In between that, the 34-year-old has been limited to just one goal in his six appearances.  Still, he should be a welcome addition to their attack given how productive he has typically been with Edmonton; he’s coming off a 31-goal effort last season despite only playing in 58 games.

Levi’s return spells the end of Tomkins’ time on the NHL roster for now.  The 32-year-old made a pair of starts during this recall, winning one while turning aside 44 of 50 shots.  Tomkins had gotten off to a good start with Bakersfield before being promoted, putting up a 2.40 GAA and a .909 SV% in three outings with the Condors.