Oilers’ Connor McDavid to Zach Hyman connection reaches new heights

The Edmonton Oilers are embarking on a journey the team and fans hope will result in the sixth Stanley Cup in franchise history.

The storylines are plentiful, and each day brings new information to feed the insatiable appetite of the fans.

One such story emerging currently surrounds Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman scoring goals at five-on-five.

Game 1 of the series versus the Los Angeles Kings saw McDavid and Hyman participate in three goals for Edmonton and one against the team.

The two men have been working together for three years, with results improving each season.

McDavid to Hyman is exceptional at five-on-five.

McDavid-Hyman by year

Each season brings more minutes and more goal share for the tandem. Through multiple linemates, the scoring and outscoring just keep getting better.

All numbers five-on-five via Natural Stat Trick

In their first season together (2021-22), McDavid spent just 36 percent of his overall ice time with Hyman, the duo scoring 33 percent of the goals scored when the captain was on the ice.

Year 2 saw a major spike, with McDavid playing 59 percent of his minutes with Hyman, and scoring 77 percent of the goals he was on the ice for in 2022-23.

This season, the trend continued. McDavid played 75 percent of his total five-on-five minutes with Hyman, scoring 84 percent of the on-ice goals he was a part of during the regular season.

The playoff numbers above are for all three seasons, but in Game 1 of this year’s series with the Kings, the two men were on the ice for 12 minutes and 46 seconds, outscoring Los Angeles 3-1 in that span.

That’s 14.1 goals per 60 at five-on-five. Amazing.

Individual scoring

McDavid scores with everyone, so the idea of a specific partner elevating his scoring is often met with resistance.

Using the last three seasons, and comparing McDavid’s scoring totals with Hyman versus other common linemates, the advantage is clear.

All numbers five-on-five over the past three seasons

This is a striking set of numbers, partly because McDavid with Leon Draisaitl is such a powerhouse duo the assumption is the captain would deliver more offence in that situation.

McDavid scores more points per 60 at five-on-five with Hyman than any other linemate over the past three seasons.

For his part, Hyman scored 2.55 points per 60 with McDavid in those 2,188 minutes, with 1.37 goals per 60 alongside the captain. Hyman has similar results with Draisaitl (2.55 points per 60 in 1,343 minutes) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (2.41 points per 60 in 1,296 minutes).

Defending McDavid-Hyman

The Kings play a rugged style right at the edge of the rules, sometimes beyond.

Los Angeles is especially difficult to beat when getting a lead. Even one goal can mean a stifling defensive system is engaged, making life difficult for Edmonton’s skilled men.

In a recent article at The Athletic by Harman Dayal and Chris Johnston, an anonymous executive was quoted saying, “The easiest way to shut down the Oilers is preventing McDavid from picking up steam in the neutral zone. The way you prevent McDavid from picking up steam is to mess with the way they do their breakouts and (defensive zone) exits. That starts with their retrievals. Ekholm, good f—ing player, but he can’t make plays on his backhand and Bouchard won’t retrieve the puck (in the corners). We had a good meeting about that before we played Edmonton. We executed that strategy perfectly and we just abused them. If I’m going up against the Oilers and I identify that vulnerability, that is what I’m going after.”

At five-on-five this season, McDavid played against various Kings players and Edmonton went 3-1-0 in the four games.

McDavid faced Drew Doughty most among Los Angeles defencemen. In 42 minutes head-to-head, Edmonton outscored Los Angeles 3-0 and outshot the Kings 27-15.

Chances are the executive quoted above wasn’t a member of the Kings organization.

Game 1

The Kings had a tough time containing McDavid and Hyman at five-on-five in the first game of the series.

McDavid had two assists, Hyman scored two goals and added an assist, and the line (with Adam Henrique on left wing) was 3-1 goals with an expected goal share of 84 percent in the first game.

The Kings used the team’s best checkers and both of the top pairings against the McDavid unit, and the results favoured the Oilers.

Against Phillip Danault’s line, McDavid and his crew won the day (3-1 goals, 78 percent expected goals). He also had success (2-1 goals) against the Doughty pairing, with the duo of Vladislav Gavrikov and Matt Roy playing even in goals (1-1). Edmonton had the edge in shots 5-2 when the captain faced the Gavrikov-Roy pairing.

Los Angeles has several quality two-way players and the top line might see more of the Anze Kopitar line in the second game.

McDavid to Hyman

This is the third year for this duo and the results are getting better.

The strong offensive output combined with five-on-five outscoring is a major lift to the Oilers’ championship hopes.

Kris Knoblauch can deploy the two men with any number of wingers and have success.

Equally important, the coach can run Draisaitl on a second scoring line, with Nugent-Hopkins, without compromising the effectiveness of the top unit.

The Oilers are a mature team now, with greater depth than ever. No one calls this roster a bunch of kids anymore.

If things work out well for this group, the Stanley Cup will arrive this playoff season or in the next couple of years.

McDavid-Hyman is an impact combination worthy of legendary status. All that’s left is to build a story around this pairing that chronicles both men contributing to a championship.

The Oilers need 16 victories. The first one came on Monday night, with McDavid and Hyman leading the way.

(Photo of Adam Henrique, Zach Hyman, Evan Bouchard and Connor McDavid: Andy Devlin / NHLI via Getty Images)