Canada's team? Oilers have three of country's top scorers this season

Playing largely in the shadows of superstar teammates Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, it can be easy to overlook that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman are both in the midst of career seasons with the Edmonton Oilers.

While not even in the top two in scoring on their team – and outside the top nine in the league – Nugent-Hopkins sits second, and Hyman is tied for third in points among Canadian players this season behind only McDavid.

With 22 goals and 58 points through 49 games, Nugent-Hopkins is on pace to blow past his career best of 69 points in 2018-19 and average more than a point per game for the first time in his career. 

Hyman has 25 goals this season and has already surpassed his career high with 56 points through 47 games.

McDavid continues to pace all NHL players 40 goals and an astounding 89 points – 16 more than Germany's Draisaitl in second. David Pastrnak (Czechia), Nikita Kucherov (Russia) and Americans Tage Thompson and Jason Robertson - tied at 66 points each - round out the league's top five. Sweden's Erik Karlsson is seventh in points, followed by two more U.S. forwards in Matthew Tkachuk and Jack Hughes. Mikko Rantanen of Finland is tied with Nugent-Hopkins for 10th. 
 

Hyman is currently enjoying arguably the best stretch of his career, having been named the NHL's First Star of the Week on Monday. The 30-year-old posted four goals and nine points in three games last week.

His 25th goal of the season came in Wednesday's overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets as he extended his current goal streak to four games. Hyman is tied for fifth in goals among Canadian players this season behind McDavid, Bo Horvat, Mark Scheifele and Brayden Point. 

"He's playing great, there's no doubt about that," McDavid said earlier this week of the winger. "He's doing a lot of good things and getting rewarded for it, which is really good to see. He works so hard, he keeps pucks alive, he's good on the forecheck, he goes to the net hard, and he opens up a lot of space. He's a leader on our team who sets the tone for our group in terms of work ethic."

"I see somebody who quietly goes about his business," head coach Jay Woodcroft added of Hyman. "Zero maintenance player in terms of what his needs are. He just goes about his business whatever his circumstance may be. He's a great example for younger players, because he comes to the rink with a purpose, he works at his game. He doesn't worry about what he doesn't get. He just makes the most of what he does get.

"Wherever he plays in the lineup, I know what type of effort we're going to get out of Zach Hyman. However many minutes he plays that night, I know what we're going to get out of Zach Hyman. There's comfort when coaches know about a player's level of consistency."

While the Oilers have four of the NHL's top 17 scorers this season, the team continues to fight for a playoff spot. Edmonton currently holds the top wild-card spot in the Western Conference, three points ahead of the Calgary Flames in the second spot and four ahead of the outside-the-playoff-picture Minnesota Wild, who have three games in hand. 

The Oilers, however, are also just three points from tying the Seattle Kraken and Vegas Golden Knights for the top spot in the Pacific Division and two points from tying the Los Angeles Kings for third with a game in hand.

Edmonton will look to extend their current point streak to eight games when they take on the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.