Oilers' Zach Hyman returns Saturday against Vancouver after stiff-neck absence
The veteran forward returns to a team that is 11-3-3 and sitting on depth questions at second-line and blue line.
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Zach Hyman returns to the Edmonton Oilers lineup Saturday night against the Vancouver Canucks, 9:08 p.m. Face-off at Rogers Place, his first game since a stiff neck put him on injured reserve in late October.
Hyman has played six of the Oilers' 17 games this season and has one goal and one point in that span. He missed games earlier in the year with a suspected concussion, then the neck injury after hits along the boards. "Great to be back, obviously," he said. "Been unfortunate with the injuries but it's a lot easier to be out when the team's winning." The Oilers are 11-3-3.
His return reshuffles the forward group. Max Jones moves to third-line left wing alongside Jason Dickinson and Mathieu Joseph, and Alex Formenton drops to the fourth line with Trent Frederic and Owen Michaels. Colton Dach, who had been filling Hyman's second-line spot, missed Saturday's morning skate with a possible illness and is listed as iffy.
Coach Mike Babcock said having Hyman back means "having a guy who does it right every single time."
The lineup is also moving in goal. Devon Levi returns in net after missing seven games with a lower-body injury suffered against Carolina on Oct. 22, while Matt Tomkins, who made two starts, was sent back to Bakersfield on an emergency recall.
The decision on Jake Walman is still open. The seven-year, $7 million-a-year defenceman has been a healthy scratch three times and logged the fewest minutes of any Oilers blueliner against Anaheim, and a Walman scratch would put Ty Emberson back on the third pair with Shakir Mukhamadullin. The Oilers have not publicly confirmed the lineup.
