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EDMONTON, AB – Go to the net and good things happen.

The old hockey cliché could not be more true for Zach Hyman during his three wildly productive seasons with the Oilers after he signed as a free agent following six years with his hometown Maple Leafs.

The winger simply cannot stop scoring goals for the Blue & Orange, setting a new career high with 27 in 2021-22, surpassing that total with 36 last season, and adding his name to the franchise record books on Wednesday with his 39th and 40th tallies of the current campaign.

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      Hyman reaches 40 goals on a two-on-one rush with McDavid

      Hyman became the 13th player in Oilers history to reach 40 goals in a season, doing so in just 56 games after Connor McDavid collected 40 in 48 games last year. Only former Toronto teammate Auston Matthews has scored 40 faster than Hyman this season, needing just 46 appearances.

      The 31-year-old is also the first player other than McDavid or Leon Draisaitl with a 40-goal season for the Oilers since Petr Klima in 1990-91. The fan-favourite Czech forward, who sadly passed away last May at the age of 58, tallied exactly 40 in 70 games that season.

      Hyman is on a career-best six-game scoring streak after he potted the pair to lead the Oilers to a thrilling 3-2 overtime win against the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday, digging his team out of an early 2-0 deficit before McDavid ended it in sudden death.

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          Hyman converts in tight on the PP for his 39th of the season

          Hyman's coach and teammates praised his relentless work ethic, positive attitude and ability to put himself in position to score when asked about his 40-goal milestone after Wednesday's win.

          "On the forecheck recovering pucks, I don't think anyone's better than he is around the league," said bench boss Kris Knoblauch. "He manages to get a 50-50 puck 90 percent of the time. It's a good skill ... and then the goal scoring. Obviously he's playing with a pretty good player most nights with Connor at centre, but he's got to find a way to do it, and he's pretty good around the net, whether it's not getting his stick tied up, or finding soft spots around the net. That's hockey smarts."

          "So happy for him," McDavid said. "He's a guy that brings it every single day, brings it with a positive attitude, a smile on his face. Even when things aren't going well, he shows up and is the same every day, and it's great to see him get rewarded. He's been playing been great this year. He's banging in goals left, right and centre, and it's been great for our team."

          "That's incredible, I'm extremely happy for him, extremely proud of him," added goaltender Stuart Skinner. "He deserves that. He's such a hard worker. And not only that, but the best thing about Hyms is the type of person he is off the ice. He's one of the best guys. He's always in a good mood no matter what's going on. And that goes a long way, especially in long seasons."

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              Connor talks after scoring the OT winner to beat the Blues 3-2

              It's no coincidence that Hyman's hot streak is coinciding with McDavid being on one of the most prolific assist stretches in league history. The Oilers captain had gone nearly 11 full games without scoring until he beat Jordan Binnington for the OT winner on Wednesday, but in those 11 games he has 25 assists and has recorded a helper on Hyman's last seven tallies.

              "I play with the best player in the world, so I'm very fortunate and very aware that I'm pretty lucky," Hyman said. "One of the big reasons I chose to come here was the opportunity to play with Connor."

              Hyman was quick to add their chemistry wasn't automatic when he joined the team, though.

              "It doesn't happen overnight," he said. "You learn, and I think a lot of it has to do with communication. He thinks the game so well, so if I'm able to think it with him and get to spots that he can get the puck to, then we'll have a good chance to score. I just keep trying to get open because he's making those plays and I'm the benefactor."

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                  Zach talks after hitting the 40-goal milestone in Wednesday's win

                  From McDavid's perspective, having a linemate who's more often than not parked right next to the crease makes his role as the primary setup man that much easier.

                  "He's always at the net," McDavid said. "And that's the type of guy I like to play with. I like to do a lot of roaming around the zone. I'm not always the guy at the net, so I need someone that's going to be there and he's obviously there a lot and he's big and strong. I think you see on the first goal (tonight) he gets the d-man on his back and makes it easy just to kind of put it in there. He gets a couple of whacks at it and scores. He makes a lot of plays like that. It makes it easy on the passer to put it in there for him."

                  Coach Knoblauch also provided his observations of the duo's reciprocal relationship.

                  "The biggest thing is being able to get that guy the puck, get Connor the puck," he said. "Whether that's on the forecheck or on the breakout, you get a pass, you're giving it back to him. Sometimes there are players that plays die when it gets on their sticks, and Zach's not like that. And then the goal-scoring ability is crucial. If you're playing with a guy that's going to set you up like Connor does, it's nice to have a good finishing touch. And Zach does have that."