The Zach Hyman injury watch has carried on into another gameday for the Edmonton Oilers and the most recent update isn’t good news.
Hyman skated with his Oilers teammates on Monday afternoon, although he didn’t take part as a regular member of the line rushes. Despite this, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch did not commit either way to Hyman being in or out of the lineup for tonight’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights.
After a pre-game skate at T-Mobile Arena, Knoblauch said that Hyman would not play. This is the fifth consecutive game that he’s been out with an injury.
“Zach will not play tonight,” Knoblauch confirmed.
“They weren’t their best the other night & they lost. Definitely be prepared to bring their best tonight.”
Coach Knoblauch on being ready to face a Golden Knights squad that fell 6-0 to Utah in their last game.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/XZsGQPxYSk
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) December 3, 2024
This will, once again, leave the Oilers without both Hyman and Viktor Arvidsson out of the top six as they recover from undisclosed injuries. No update has been provided on Arvidsson, who has missed seven straight games and has not even been skating with the team.
Edmonton, as a result, will run a lineup that looks exactly like the one that defeated the Colorado Avalanche 4-1 over the weekend. Kasperi Kapanen will continue to flank Connor McDavid on the top line instead of Hyman, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the other wing.
Connor Brown sticks into the 2RW role with Leon Draisaitl and a resurgent Vasily Podkolzin on the other side of the ice. The NHL’s fastest player this season, Mattias Janmark will stick with his linemates of Adam Henrique and Jeff Skinner, who was recently fined by the NHL for diving.
Then, on the fourth line, veterans Corey Perry and Derek Ryan remain together, with call-up Drake Caggiula getting another game.
On the backend, Troy Stecher will appear in his 12th consecutive game, while Travis Dermott is a healthy scratch. He’ll take up his usual second-pair spot beside Darnell Nurse.
Stuart Skinner will get his second consecutive start after turning aside 27 shots against the Avalanche on Saturday night. He has a lifetime regular season record of 4-2-1 against the Golden Knights, with a combined .892 save percentage over that span.
Gametime is set for 8 pm MT.