Hyman living out childhood dream entering Game 7 of Cup Final with Oilers

EDMONTON -- Zach Hyman grew up the oldest of five brothers playing road hockey in front of their house in the Forest Hill neighborhood of Toronto.

They played their version of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.

"All of our buddies whatever age group would come over and we'd set the nets up in the middle of the street and we would play and most times we'd make up a Game 7," said Hyman, the Edmonton Oilers forward. "That's when everybody would go crazy, throw up your stick in the air as a 10-year-old. Your brother would come over and punch you in the face. But, yeah, that's what you dream of. This is an opportunity that could be once in a lifetime. It's a special opportunity that we need to take advantage of."

Hyman will play in the real thing at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, on Monday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS), the Oilers earning the opportunity to play Game 7 of the Cup Final and forcing it on the Florida Panthers by coming back from down 3-0.

Hyman, in fact, was asked if it's more enjoyable to know that he's going to get to play in a Game 7 in the Cup Final or to realize the path the Oilers took to get here, the history they've made and are still trying to make, becoming just the third team in NHL history and first in 79 years to force a Game 7 after falling behind 3-0 in the Final.

Only the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup after losing the first three games in the Cup Final. The Oilers are trying to do something 82 years in the making.

"Oh, I hope I'm never in a position that I'm down 0-3 that we have to do this again," Hyman said. "I hope we're never in that spot. It's not a fun spot to be in down 0-3. Having said that, you have an opportunity to do something unbelievable. I think we have an opportunity to do something really, really special. But it doesn't mean anything unless you do it. Like, you've got to do it. Nobody is getting ahead of themselves in this room. There's one more game left and it's going to be the hardest one."

Game 7 is happening because the Oilers scored 18 goals in winning Games 4, 5 and 6: 8-1, 5-3 and 5-1, respectively.

They had a 2-0 lead in each of the games.

Hyman had two assists in Game 4, a goal in Game 5 that gave Edmonton a 2-0 lead 1:58 into the second period and a goal in Game 6 that made it 3-0 at 18:20 of the second period.

He had no points in the first three games of the series.

"I feel we have belief," Hyman said. "That's the word. I wouldn't use momentum, I would use just a belief. Every game you win it gets stronger. The outside belief from other people, they start believing. I think a lot of people weren't so interested in the Final when it was 0-3, but now I'm sure a lot of people will be tuning in. Everybody wants to watch games like this.

"That's why sports is amazing because the unthinkable can happen. We're in a spot where we thought it can happen when I guess nobody else believed that it could. We've got an opportunity now and that's all you can ask for."

Hyman, who finished third in the League during regular season with an NHL career-high 54 goals, has an individual opportunity, too.

A hat trick in Game 7 not only will likely make him a Stanley Cup champion for the first time, but it will tie him for the most goals scored in a Stanley Cup Playoff year.

He has 16 goals, the most in a postseason since Joe Sakic scored 18 in 1996. Hyman is one of 14 players in NHL history to have at least 16 goals in a postseason. It's been done 17 times, with Mike Bossy scoring 17 three times and Mario Lemieux scoring 16 twice.

Reggie Leach (1976) and Jari Kurri (1985) share the record at 19 goals in a postseason.

"It's crazy," Hyman said. "Let's just win."