GAME RECAP: Oilers 3, Senators 1

EDMONTON, AB – Zach Hyman's career year continued Saturday as he scored all three Oilers goals in a 3-1 decision over the Ottawa Senators for the team's seventh consecutive victory.

The veteran forward tallied his 23rd, 24th and 25th goals of the season during the Hockey Night in Canada matchup, vaulting him up to fourth in the Rocket Richard Trophy race – tied with Artemi Panarin of the Rangers and five behind former teammate Auston Matthews of the Maple Leafs.

Both Stuart Skinner and Anton Forsberg were pitching shutouts until late in the second period when the Oilers finally broke the goose egg as Hyman got his stick on an Evan Bouchard point shot on the power play with 1:52 on the clock.

The man-advantage marker was originally credited to Bouchard but got changed to Hyman midway through the third period that saw the winger tally two more goals for his fourth career hat-trick.

"You can't really say too many good things about him," Bouchard said of Hyman, as the defenceman picked up a trio of assists on the hat-trick. "He's all over the ice, does it defensively, works down low, puts his body on the line beside the net, and he's getting rewarded for it. Everybody in the room is happy to see it."

"It's nice to see him getting the goals," Coach Kris Knoblauch added. "He's been working hard for them, and he's playing with some good players, but he just does so many little things that we appreciate."

Hyman had a career-best 36 tallies last season and he's well on his way to shattering that mark this year, currently on a staggering 59-goal pace.

Often redirecting pucks into the net on the ice, Hyman is quick to do the same with praise when asked about his impressive lamp-lighting achivements this season.

"I don't know how many times I can say it, but I play with some pretty good players who make plays every single game," he said. "I'm very fortunate to be playing with them and putting it in right now."

A perfect example of that team-effort sentiment came on Hyman's hat-trick tally with 2:50 to go in the game as Connor McDavid made a perfect pass to find him at the side of the net for the tap-in past Forsberg on the power play that held up as the insurance marker.

"Connor made a great play there," Hyman said. "I'm just trying to find an angle to see if he's going to shoot it and maybe I can be a little basketball backboard and give him an extra two feet. Or if he makes a heck of a play like that, I can kind of tip it, whether it hits my body or goes right in or lays there for somebody coming down... You've got to be creative and find ways."

In addition to three-point games from Hyman and Bouchard, the Oilers were dialled in defensively, specifically with a three-for-three penalty kill and the 29-save effort from Skinner in net.

Edmonton is tied with Tampa Bay for 14th in the league in overall penalty killing at 80.3 percent, but during their current win streak the Blue & Orange rank fifth at 90.5 percent (19-for-21).

"Phenomenal... just so solid the whole way through," Hyman said of Skinner. "He's our best penalty killer out there. He's the one who's the last line of defence and he's a big reason the penalty kill is where it's at. So on that front, phenomenal. And then just steady on a bunch of rushes. I thought it was an up-and-down game for a good portion of it where they got some chances off the rush, and he was just steady."

With the seven-game winning streak, combined with their eight-game heater from late November and early December, the Oilers have a 15-3-0 record in their last 18 games and sit in the Western Conference's second wildcard spot.

Knoblauch became the first coach in NHL history to have two winning streaks of seven games or more in his first 25 NHL appearances behind the bench.

"I'm happy the team is winning and playing well," he said. "It was only a matter of time before they started winning hockey games, no matter what message I sent or whoever it was. Hopefully we've got many more seven-game winning streaks."

The Oilers will look to match their previous eight-game streak when they head to Chicago on Tuesday to open a three-game road trip against the Blackhawks.