Zach Hyman reveals “toll” Stanley Cup run had

The Edmonton Oilers came within one victory of reaching hockey's ultimate mountain top, but instead dropped Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last month to the Florida Panthers and fell short of completing what would have been a historic reverse sweep. 

Not only did Oilers superstar captain Connor McDavid become the first player on the losing side since Jean-Sebastien Giguere in 2003 to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the postseason, but forward Zach Hyman built on his incredible regular season with 16 playoff tallies. This means that he scored a total of 70 goals combined, a truly remarkable achievement. 

Naturally, the mental and physical toll that a lengthy playoff run takes on a player is considerable, especially when they come so close to a championship but fall short.

"You look at it from a mental standpoint, you come so close it's just a part of the story," Hyman explained. 

"I was fortunate that this year I didn't have anything major going on [in terms of physical health]," said Hyman. "Mentally, it takes a toll."

"The way that it went down for us, I would say the mental side [was more difficult than the physical] - being down 3-0 in the finals, working yourself back into the series and ultimately giving yourself a chance to win it and just falling short."

Unfortunately for the Oilers, there was no chance of a "Game 8" after their 2-1 loss in Game 7 at Amerant Bank Arena, leaving the team to accept their disappointing fate. 

"It almost, in the moment, kind of didn't feel like it was over," he said. "We were ready for the next game, even though there wasn't one, then you have to come to terms with the fact that it's not going to happen this year."

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