Hyman could end another book with a fairytale ending if the Oilers make their comeback

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On the longest day of the year, it was not a long night for the Edmonton Oilers.

And now we have the two best words in hockey.

Game 7.

This may be something that Zach Hyman, hockey’s best children’s author, will use as a subject when he finds time to write a fourth book after his miraculous breakout goal late in the second period on Friday marked 16 playoff goals – the most in nearly 30 years. Joe Sakic had scored 18 goals on Colorado’s way to a Stanley Cup victory over Florida in 1996.

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Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch’s bold statement when his team was three games down against Florida, saying, “Hopefully Zach Hyman can write a storybook about it at the end,” now seems as bold as it was prescient after the Oilers’ 5-1 victory over the Panthers.

But Hyman knows there is one final chapter waiting for him: Monday in Florida.

“A story is not good until you finish it,” said Hyman.

“I don’t think many teams have recovered from a 3-0 deficit and like I said, I don’t think we deserved to be there, but there are no moral victories in hockey. We fought our way out of the hole and are right there.”

What’s cooler?

That Hyman and the Oilers are in a 7th game, or how they got to this point?

“Well, being down 3-0 is not a pretty statistic. Now we have a chance to do something incredible, something really, really special. But like I always say, nobody is exaggerating here. I don’t know if we have momentum, but we believe in ourselves. Everyone likes to watch sports and what’s going on because the unthinkable could happen,” Hyman said.

Hyman hadn’t scored in the first four games of the Stanley Cup Final, but Evan Bouchard’s close-range shot knocked his shin pad off on the power play in Game 5 and Bobrovsky scored. His solo effort showed another side of him – inspiration and sweat.

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“What I learned early in my career is to just keep playing. Some games you score a goal, some games you don’t. You can’t lose confidence just because the puck doesn’t go in,” Hyman said.

“Tonight, Nuggy (Ryan Nugent-Hopkins) makes a great block and brings it to the tee for me.”

And now he’s close to Sakic’s 18. In any other year he might be Conn Smythe’s favorite, but this is Connor McDavid’s MVP.

“That’s, uh, crazy (Sakic in the same sentence),” Hyman said.

Hyman’s solo effort made it 3-0, and his attempt to run 45 yards, counter Panthers defender Gustav Forsling’s attempt with a diving shot, and then beat Sergei Bobrovsky on the block side was a typical “We Believe” moment.

Hyman is not McDavid, but he didn’t get caught.

“It’s a huge goal, of course. At that point it’s 2-0 and whoever scores the next goal, it’s a one-goal or three-goal game. So, especially at the end of the half, you’re much closer (to a big advantage if you score the goal),” he said.

He skated a long distance and devoured the ice before his triumph.

What was he thinking? Deke? Shoot?

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“It didn’t seem that long at the time. I didn’t have much time to think (about a move) when I got it. I was at the hash marks. I obviously settled it, made a move and beat him,” he said.

And again, 70 goals (including playoffs) this season is an amazing achievement.

If he is not on Canada’s Four Nations team next February and then perhaps on the Olympic team in 2026, in whatever position and perhaps as a power play scorer, then something is very wrong with the selection process.

“He is extremely powerful. He comes out of the starting blocks quickly and what I would say above all is … he is determined. He is a strong guy and has shown how he can skate,” said Nugent-Hopkins, who was confirmed in this emotion by Leon Draisaitl.

“He’s a damn good hockey player, really one of a kind. He’s like a little bull. He jumps out of the net like nobody else can. His first few steps are so powerful and I think you really saw that in the goal,” Draisaitl said.

“He just explodes and is gone. He stands calm and composed in front of the goal. He just knows where he has to go.”

It’s amazing to score like Hyman did and make it to Game 7.

“This is obviously what you dream about as a kid. I mean, this is something you only experience once in your life. We have five boys in our family and we always, no matter what age, played street hockey with our buddies. Most of the time we would come up with a Game 7 (scenario),” Hyman said.

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Nothing comparable to this one though.

One game left.

“Everyone had faith that we could do this. We held firm, and outside the room there was a belief that these guys were finished. And then you win a game, and outside the room the belief grows, and you win another game, and then you think, ‘Now they can’t lose at home (Game 6),'” Hyman said.

“I think the message was that it’s been tough all year. I think it’s almost fitting that we were in that situation (0-3). We just felt like if there was ever a team that could get out of there, it could be us, the way the season went.”

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