Zach Hyman said about abrupt scoring slump (Source: Getty)

Edmonton Oilers forward Zach Hyman has shared his thoughts about his scoring slump this season after netting 50+ goals during his career-best campaign last year.

Hyman, who has a seven-year, $38.5 million contract, has missed the Oilers’ past two games with an undisclosed injury sustained in the 5-2 win against the Ottawa Senators on Nov. 19.

The talented winger returned to Oilers’ practice on Thursday and could rejoin the lineup soon during their upcoming three-game road trip.

Hyman has scored three goals and five assists in over 20 games this season, which pales in comparison to his stellar 77-point performance (54 goals, 23 assists) last season. Addressing his scoring issues, Hyman emphasized focusing on the process rather than results.

“Just the balancing aspect of battling through a little bit of adversity. Oh, I mean, I’ve had so much adversity in my career. I don’t judge myself off results — always process-driven, obviously,” Hyman said.

“A big part of my game is producing and helping the team win, and when you’re not playing,you can’t do that. So it’s tough mentally to be out, like I mentioned earlier, but nothing to do with results or comparing this year to last year or anything like that,” he added.

Hyman also admitted that missing games has been difficult mentally and frustrating, especially when the team loses.

“Like any player, I don’t like missing games, I love playing hockey so I love being out there with the guys,” he said. “It helps when we win and it’s more frustrating when we lose. It’s out of my control and hoping to get better day-by-day,” he said.

The forward remains optimistic about recovering from his injury and contributing for the Oilers soon.

Edmonton Oilers HC Kris Knoblauch’s take on Zach Hyman’s performance

Edmonton Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch shared his thoughts on Zach Hyman’s performances this season. While Hyman’s goalscoring has been down compared to the previous season, Knoblauch expressed confidence that the goals will come.

“He does a lot of things well,” Knoblauch said on Thursday’s practice. “His biggest contribution is the goal-scoring, this year it hasn’t been quite the same, but you know that the goals are going to come.”

On Hyman’s return timeline, Knoblauch said:

“He’s been going through the steps. He’s feeling much better, and there’s a chance that he’s playing this road trip sometime.”

The Edmonton Oilers’s next game is on Friday on the road against the Utah Hockey Club.