Zach Hyman is fully aware of how important things are right now for head coach Kris Knoblauch and the Edmonton Oilers.
The chances to make mistakes in the Pacific Division have completely disappeared over the last few weeks of high-stakes regular season games.
Each night feels like a tough playoff match, and the upcoming games provide no breaks for a team that is built to win a championship immediately.
Hyman recently pointed out that these late-season games against their divisional rivals are really important for the team.
Losing just one point can dramatically change their position in the standings overnight.
He specifically mentioned their upcoming game against the San Jose Sharks as a perfect example of a game they must win.
Edmonton is currently right on the brink of the playoff spots, where even a short losing streak could completely end their chances to make it to the postseason.
All Gas, No Brakes
The standings are extremely close from top to bottom this season.
Only a few points can make the difference between having home-ice advantage or having to watch the playoffs from home.
You can have a team full of great players, but losing crucial points to teams in the Pacific is a sure way to miss out on the playoffs.
Hyman has a salary cap hit of $5.5 million and earns it all through his hard work in the rough parts of the ice.
The experienced winger knows that relying on how they played in the past won’t help them during this tough stretch.
Almost half of their remaining games are only against teams in their own division, making the rest of the schedule very challenging.
This creates a lot of pressure on their power play and penalty kill teams to perform well with quick passes and strong defense.
They just can’t have games where their best players don’t score and end up with a bad score rating.
The message that everyone hears in the locker room is very strong and easy to understand for the whole team.
They need to win tough games at home, or they’ll need to plan for a short break in late April.
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