Oilers HC Kris Knoblauch, Evander Kane praise $38,500,000 'big bull' for physical play in Game 1 against Stars 

The Edmonton Oilers are in a 1-0 series hole against the Dallas Stars to begin the 2025 Western Conference Final.

After an almost perfect first 40 minutes of play in Game 1, the Oilers saw their 3-1 lead evaporate in the final 20, dropping the series opener 6-3 in Dallas. Three power-play goals from the Stars in the first six minutes of the third period turned the game on its head, and there wasn't enough time for Edmonton to recover.

Edmonton got strong performances from several players throughout the lineup, including Zach Hyman, who registered a whopping 12 hits in Game 1. Hyman is in the fourth season of the seven-year, $38,500,000 contract signed with Edmonton as a UFA in 2021.

Evander Kane spoke about Hyman during his media availability on Friday.

"He obviously is a big kind of bull out there. And you know, when he puts his mind to it and wants to bear down on guys and get physical, he can obviously do it. I think he's showing that. He's one of those players who has multiple different skill sets. If he's not scoring, he's bringing other things to the table," Kane said (3:06).

Head coach Kris Knoblauch also showered praise on his winger's new style of play.

"Zach has gone from the leading goal scorer in the NHL to the leading hit guy. Zach, like many other guys on our team, are just willing to do whatever it takes. The intensity is high. You can have any player wanting to finish checks, but you also have to have awareness of how to get there and also have the speed," Knoblauch said (6:05).

"Zach's quietly a very quick player. He's fast. He can get up and down the ice, and then when he can get there, he's not turning away. He'll, very rarely, not finish his check. So I think it's paid dividends in the first two rounds, and hopefully it pays dividends in this round also."

It is impressive to see a 54-scorer finding different ways to impact the game to help his team win come playoff time.

Game 2 between the Oilers and Stars goes down on Friday night in Dallas. The puck drops at 8 p.m. EST at American Airlines Center.