The 32-year-old is excited to carry that confidence into a tough matchup against Tampa Bay, who recently received their own top-line return on Saturday night in the form of Nikita Kucherov, who had a goal and two assists in the Lightning’s last 4-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks.
The Russian returned to the right side of the top line next to Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point – the latter of whose 18 goals this season sit second overall in the NHL behind Leon Draisaitl and Florida’s Sam Reinhart’s 19 tallies.
If given the assignment to check Tampa’s top line tonight with Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Hyman says it will be a worthwhile challenge.
“For sure, yeah. Anytime you play against a team that’s got a ton of skill and players that are playing really well, it’s always a fun challenge,” he said. “So if we’re playing against that number on the line, then that’ll be a great challenge for our line and for our team.”
Throughout the lineup, the Oilers feel their chemistry as lines over recent games has gone a long way in bringing up the level of their game.
Forward Adam Henrique has top-line experience from his time in Anaheim, but the 34-year-old has settled in as the third-line centre next to Mattias Janmark and Jeff Skinner, recording a goal and seven assists in his last ten games while playing an important role on an Oilers penalty kill that’s 24-for-26 (92.3 percent) over their the 12 games.
