Zach Hyman likely out for remainder of series against Stars. Who will fill his spot in the Oilers’ lineup?

Zach Hyman won’t play in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final on Thursday.

The winger was injured in Game 4 on a hit by Mason Marchment, and it sounds unlikely that he’ll return in this series against the Dallas Stars. The Edmonton Oilers are still waiting for word on whether he’ll be able to return later in the playoffs.

Hyman has been excellent for the Edmonton Oilers in the playoffs, and his absence creates a big hole. But as we’ve seen with Mattias Ekholm, the team has the depth to overcome an injury.

With Hyman out, I’m curious to see who Kris Knoblauch inserts into the lineup. I see three options, which are all very different.

1. He could play Jeff Skinner. Skinner played in Game 1 against the Los Angeles Kings in the first round but hasn’t played since. He is a left winger, and won’t replace Hyman’s speed, size or physicality, but he’s competitive and is a one-shot shooter. I don’t see him taking Hyman’s spot on the top line, that will be Trent Frederic or Kasperi Kapanen. Frederic prefers playing right wing, and he’s skating better now than he was earlier in the playoffs. He can play a physical game, although I doubt anyone can replace Hyman’s hit totals of 111 hits and a 25.08 hits/60 at 5×5. Skinner would play LW if he were Knoblauch’s choice.

2. He could dress Mattias Ekholm and go with 11 forwards and 7 defencemen. Ekholm is getting close, and Game 5 seemed like it was the earliest he was going to return. Bringing in Ekholm would mean more ice time for the depth forwards as they’d collectively replace Hyman’s ice time. The Oilers have played 11-7 a few times this season, so it wouldn’t be a big surprise, and it would allow them to ease Ekholm in, if they feel that is necessary.

3. He could bring in Noah Philp to make his playoff debut. Knoblauch has shown he isn’t afraid to think outside the box, and I can see a scenario where he opts to insert Noah Philp as the 12th forward. Knoblauch likes forwards with size and speed. Philp has both of those, and he is a right-shot centre.

The only area Dallas has dominated Edmonton in this series is in the faceoff dot. Edmonton is 41.3% while Dallas is 58.7%. Dallas has won 135 draws to the Oilers’ 95. They are averaging 10 more faceoff wins per game. Philp gives them a right shot option, and he also can play RW, if Knoblauch is leery of a rookie taking on all of the defensive responsibilities. He could take faceoffs and then play wing. There are valid reasons for him to consider Philp over Skinner when you look at faceoffs, as well as size and speed. Knoblauch has shown he will make a tough decision, and most of them have worked out.

The other option in a few games will be Connor Brown. Brown won’t be ready for Game 5, but he will be an option for the Stanley Cup Final, if the Oilers make it, and possibly later in the series.

Give Stan Bowman credit. He’s given Knoblauch lots of good options up front and on the blueline. This is the deepest Oilers team we’ve seen since the Championship teams of the 1980s.

I could make an argument for Skinner, Ekholm and Philp. Who do you think Knoblauch will dress?

QUICK HITS…

— Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is having the best playoff series of his career. He has nine points in the first four games. Only Wayne Gretzky has produced more points in the first four games of a Conference Final in Oilers history. Gretzky scored 12 and then 10 three times. RNH is the first player in 37 years to have multipoint games in each of the first four games of the Conference Final/Semifinal round.

RNH became the seventh player in NHL history with multiple points during each of the first four games of the CF/Semifinal. He joins Wayne Gretzky (5 GP in 1988 CF and 4 GP in 1983 CF), Craig Janney (4 GP in 1990 CF), Cam Neely (4 GP in 1990 CF), Johnny Bucyk (4 GP in 1972 SF), Toe Blake (4 GP in 1946 SF) and Elmer Lach (4 GP in 1946 SF). Impressive stuff.

— Corey Perry scored his sixth goal of these playoffs and became the 10th different Oiler to score a game-winning goal in these playoffs. It was also his 60th career playoff goal, making him the 36th player in NHL history to score 60. He’s tied with Brendan Shanahan, Joe Mullen and Doug Gilmour. He also tied Mark Recchi, Teemu Selanne, Ron Francis and Jean Beliveau for the most playoff goals in a season by a player 39 years of age or older (before the playoffs started).

— RNH is another Oiler who elevates his game in the playoffs. He has a career 0.78 points/game in the regular season and has 0.89 in the playoffs. Hyman has produced 0.84 points in the regular season with Edmonton and 0.88 in the playoffs. McDavid is 1.58 in the playoffs and 1.52 in the regular season. Leon Draisaitl is 1.47 in the playoffs and 1.21 in the regular season. Evan Bouchard is 0.69 in the regular season and 1.10 in the playoffs. Bouchard has the biggest improvement (0.41) in NHL history among players who have played at least 50 games.

— Stuart Skinner continues to outplay Jake Oettinger in the playoffs.
In 10 games head-to-head, Skinner is 7-3 with a .929Sv% and 1.85 GAA. He’s faced 269 shots and allowed 19 goals. Oettinger is 3-7 with a .892Sv% and 2.94 GAA. He’s faced 269 shots and allowed 30 goals.

Claims that the Oilers can’t win with Skinner have, once again, been proven false.