The Edmonton Oilers have done it: They are making the playoffs, and once again, fans can thank the epic but unsurprising performances of forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. McDavid, who you can argue deserves to win a Stanley Cup more than any other player at the moment, just recorded his 100th assist, a rare feat that, despite his accomplishments, is a career first.
Overall, McDavid has been the league’s best player over the past five seasons, collecting 610 points and 207 goals in 357 games. Yeah, that’s 1.71 points per game when you divide 610 by 357, and McDavid still has a lot of elite hockey left.
But again, McDavid’s performances don’t surprise anyone because we expect them to happen. That said, there are a few other Oilers players whose respective outings were beyond surprising, starting with a prolific goal-scorer.
We already knew Zach Hyman was a great player, and there is a good chance he ends the season with fewer points than he did last year. Yet he made this list because nobody saw him scoring 50-plus goals – 54 to be exact, at the time of this writing.
Last season, Hyman scored a career-high 36 times, and he was one of the team’s top points producers. But wow, 54 goals and an 18.8 shooting percentage was arguably the most impressive feat that the team had from any one player this season, right up there with McDavid hitting the century mark in assists.
But, because Hyman was already a great player, and we at least knew he’d threaten another career-high in points production, his final goal tally may not have surprised everyone. The next impact player on this list, however, nearly doubled their points total this season in what was a shocking campaign over the past six months.