In Game 3 of the Western Conference Final, Zach Hyman dropped two goals like it was child’s play, helping the Oilers cruise to a wild 6-1 beatdown of the Stars. But it’s hardly the goal-scoring that has come to be the highlight of his playoff run this year—it’s the sheer number of hits he has landed on his postseason opponents. From just 59 hits in 73 regular-season games, Hyman entered Game 4 with 109 hits in only 14 playoff showdowns. But tonight, things took a twist.

The scores were level a 0-0 in the first period when Hyman’s wrecking-ball momentum came to a screeching halt after a rough-n’-tumble collision with Dallas left him sidelined. The man’s playoff stats were rolling hotter than a summer sidewalk, and now everyone’s just hoping this isn’t the last we see of playoff Hyman going full chaos mode.

Mid-game chaos hit X like a slapshot to the soul when Elliotte Friedman dropped the bomb: “Hyman will not return in Game 4.” Yes, he even reposted the hit clip from Sportsnet that had fans holding their breath. Zach Hyman got rocked by Mason Marchment, and it wasn’t pretty. First period, bang. Hyman took the hit, instantly dropped his stick, and hunched in pain like his right arm or wrist had just been through a blender. He bolted straight to the Oilers’ room and didn’t come back.ESPN’s Emily Kaplan confirmed it live during the broadcast, and Oilers Nation collectively gasped.

After all, Hyman isn’t just any forward; he’s the heartbeat of that top line with McDavid, the guy who does the gritty stuff, the tough stuff, the clutch stuff. Hyman’s out there grinding both the power play and the penalty kill like a total machine. And now? That engine’s in the garage. To make matters worse, the Oilers were already skating a man down thanks to Connor Brown still feeling the aftermath of that big hit from Petrovic back in Game 3. They tried patching the line with Victor Arvidsson stepping in, but losing Hyman? That’s a tough one to swallow.

And how was the game, you ask? The Oilers pulled out the fireworks in Game 4 and lit up Rogers Place. Leon Draisaitl and Corey Perry were straight-up cooking; each tossing in a goal and an assist like it was a backyard BBQ while Kasperi Kapanen and Adam Henrique scored an empty-netter each. Edmonton didn’t just win 4-1, they put Dallas on notice, now one win away from dancing into the Stanley Cup Final yet again. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was out there serving dimes, and Stuart Skinner was a brick wall with 28 saves. Only downer? Zach Hyman took a hit and dipped out early; yes, that one stung.

For the Oilers, there’s few like Zach Hyman

Zach Hyman used to light the lamp like a firecracker; last year, he was a scoring machine, dropping 50 goals in the regular season and 16 more in the playoffs like it was nothing. But this year? Man’s flipped the whole script. Instead of just making nets sing, Hyman’s been out here crashing bodies like a one-man wrecking crew. Even his teammate Evander Kane had to laugh and say, “He’s kind of a bull out there.”

Well, if he is a bull, then he is one with some serious finesse. Because those 109 hits going into Game 4? Those had come at the cost of just six penalty minutes. Knoblauch, who has found himself pretty intrigued by how Hyman went from being a prolific goalscorer to the leading hit-guy is also a big fan of his speed. “You can have any player wanting to finish checks, but you also have to have awareness of how to get there and also having the speed. Zach’s quietly a very quick player. He’s fast. He can get up and down the ice,” said Knoblauch as reported by the CBC.

So, yes, although the Oilers landed a total of 50 hits, even though Hyman left early on in the game after contributing just two, it’s not difficult to understand that his injury is a huge blow for the Western Conference favorites. “It’s tough to lose anybody, but he brings an element to the game and to our team that not many guys around the League can bring to their teams. So, it’s tough to see him leave and hopefully it’s all right,” said Oilers defenseman Bret Kulak after the game. But as tough as it was for the Oilers to see their toughest guy leave the ice mid-game, Nugent-Hopkins thought the Oilers were able to channel it the right way. “Everybody’s just chomping at the bit to get out there. Part of it felt like we were doing it for Zach,” he said.

There’s no real update on the injury yet, but the Oilers will surely be hoping to get him back for Game 5 as they try to wrap up the Conference Final quickly. And if the Cup final does turn out to rematch from last year, it’ll be interesting to see how this version of Zach Hyman and the Oilers fare against the equally physical Panthers.