If you went back to the beginning of the season and suggested both Zach Hyman and Jeff Skinner would be playing on the Edmonton Oilers’ third line in the new year, you would have been laughed right out of town.
After all, Hyman was coming off a career year with a team-leading 54 goals after finding his niche playing net-front next to Connor McDavid on the top line.
And Skinner was a ferociously offensive free-agent pickup in the off-season, whose proven ability to snipe corners was supposed to have made everyone forget the unfortunate loss of up-and-comer Dylan Holloway to a St. Louis Blues offer sheet, instead of sticking around to play on the second line next to Leon Draisaitl.
Of course, a team’s roster on paper during training camp is one thing, while approaching the midway mark of the regular season is entirely another as lines constantly shift and players row themselves among the ebbs and flows of challenges, both from within and without.
Just when it looked like Hyman might have rediscovered his scoring touch from a season ago, he got dropped down not one line, but two in the Oilers overall pecking order.
He knew it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park after coming out of the gates on the year without a goal in his first 10 games. And with just three over his first 20.
And that was all while playing on the first line next to the greatest player in the world right now.
As the final page turned on the calendar, Hyman has been a staple on the Oilers third line, growing further and further from his stretch of scoring 10 goals in nine games. He has since gone goal-less in five games heading into Tuesday’s tilt against the Boston Bruins.
Skinner, meanwhile, has bounced anywhere and everywhere from the second line to suffering through being a healthy scratch, as he looks to find his footing with his new club, having earned 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in his first 38 games. For him, this move to the third line represents a promotion.
Then again, after the Oilers came oh, so close to their ultimate goal, having reached Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last season, it’s not about who’s where doing what, only that the job is getting done.
“We just want to win. It doesn’t matter how, who’s contributing or how we get it done,” Hyman said. “We just want to get the win.”
While his place as McDavid’s right-hand man is being filled by Connor Brown in a reunion of the two Erie Otter junior teammates — at the behest of their former junior head coach, Kris Knoblauch, no less — Hyman and Skinner are reliving a bit of their own shared hockey history.
“We played together a little bit this year and I played with him a lot growing up,” said Hyman, who suited up with Skinner during their minor hockey days in the Greater Toronto Area. “So, it’s fun to reunite.
“He’s someone who brings a ton of skill, obviously scored a lot of goals in this league, has played over a thousand games. So, I really think he’s starting to find his game and it’s fun to play with him again.”
Perhaps there is an unspoken strategy involved to try and get both Skinner and Hyman back on track by pushing them closer to their roots, or Knoblauch is simply stirring things up to try and get more production out of an on-again, off-again third line that has seen a plethora of personnel go through it this season.
Either way, it’s a blast from the past for both players.
“Yeah, it’s crazy to think about it. Obviously, if you’d have told us when we were little kids that we’d be playing together in the NHL, we’d be pretty stoked,” Hyman said. “It’s a dream. I think it’s every kid’s dream when you’re little, to play (in the NHL). And when you play with somebody who you’ve played with all the way back then, it’s pretty cool.
“He was unbelievable growing up, and always was so good on his edges. Still is,” Hyman said. “Kind of the similar player, it’s funny how you don’t change too much from when you’re little.”
At the same time, having history with a linemate isn’t a necessity.
“No, I think you just go out there and play your game and you trust that it’s going to complement whoever you’re playing with,” Hyman said. “You just kind of know what your role is being here, and you just kind of go out there and execute it and try to help the team win.”
E-mail: [email protected]
On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge
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