After all, Hyman was coming off a career year with a team-leading 54 goals after finding his niche playing net-front next to Connor McDavid on the top line.
And Skinner was a ferociously offensive free-agent pickup in the off-season, whose proven ability to snipe corners was supposed to have made everyone forget the unfortunate loss of up-and-comer Dylan Holloway to a St. Louis Blues offer sheet, instead of sticking around to play on the second line next to Leon Draisaitl.
Of course, a team’s roster on paper during training camp is one thing, while approaching the midway mark of the regular season is entirely another as lines constantly shift and players row themselves among the ebbs and flows of challenges, both from within and without.
Just when it looked like Hyman might have rediscovered his scoring touch from a season ago, he got dropped down not one line, but two in the Oilers overall pecking order.
He knew it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park after coming out of the gates on the year without a goal in his first 10 games. And with just three over his first 20.
And that was all while playing on the first line next to the greatest player in the world right now.
As the final page turned on the calendar, Hyman has been a staple on the Oilers third line, growing further and further from his stretch of scoring 10 goals in nine games. He has since gone goal-less in five games heading into Tuesday’s tilt against the Boston Bruins.
