PROJECTED LINEUP: Hyman back in lineup for Thursday's clash vs. Columbus

EDMONTON, AB – Finally, Zach is back.

Forward Zach Hyman will be back in the lineup on Thursday night when the Edmonton Oilers begin a three-game homestand at Rogers Place against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

"It's exciting. It's a great day," Hyman said. "Anytime you're back in the lineup, you're excited. That's what all of us love to do is play. It's no fun when you're on the sidelines watching, especially when you're a little banged up, so it's good to be back."

Hyman had a chance at playing on Tuesday during the concluding game of Edmonton's last three-game road trip in Las Vegas, but the decision was made to push back the 32-year-old's return by one more game, giving him two more days to get back to 100-percent health.

The assignment of forward Drake Caggiula to the AHL's Bakersfield Condors following their 1-0 defeat to the Golden Knights paved the way for Hyman to come back into the lineup tonight against the Blue Jackets.

"You're resting your body in a sense, right?" Hyman said. "Whatever is ailing you is getting a little bit of rest, so that's obviously a silver lining. But you want to be playing."

The winger missed five games with an undisclosed injury and will rejoin the team's top line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid.

"Anytime you have a player come back, it's nice for him to get into a position where he's comfortable, and those three have played very well together throughout their time together," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said.

"So my hope is that he can pick up where he left off, and there's some rust because he hasn't played in a couple of weeks. But he's obviously a really good hockey player that hopefully can give us a little push, and we missed them the other night against Vegas, where I thought we played a pretty good game and it was tough to find a goal."

"Having a 50-goal scorer in your lineup definitely helps those situations."

While Hyman is set to get back into the lineup, forward Viktor Arvidsson remains out for the Oilers with no timeline, says Coach Knoblauch. The Swedish forward was named to Sweden's 4 Nations Face-Off roster on Wednesday but hasn't suited up for the Oilers for nine games.

"I don't have a timeline. It's obviously gone on longer than we anticipated," Knoblauch said. "I thought it was just a couple of days off, rest and get back, but it hasn't quite healed the way we assumed it would have."

Goaltender Calvin Pickard will get the start against the Blue Jackets after last making 31 saves in Friday's 4-3 overtime win over Utah Hockey Club.

View the Oilers Projected Lineup vs. Columbus below:

Nugent-Hopkins - McDavid - Hyman
Podkolzin - Draisaitl - Kapanen
Janmark - Henrique - Skinner
Perry - Ryan - Brown

Ekholm - Bouchard
Nurse - Stecher
Kulak - Emberson

Pickard
Skinner