TLN Top Ten Plays: Zach Hyman
6 years ago
The first forward on our list of players who qualify, Zach Hyman is another unsung hero. While not scoring many highlight reel plays, he gets to the dirty areas, and gets the puck so that Auston and William can play with it. So, a tribute to all of his hard work.
As usual, all videos courtesy of Goal Leafs Goal.
10. Assist on Brown Goal vs. Boston (Feb. 4)
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We kick it off with an classic goal from an NHL video game – a cross crease pass. Hyman executes it to perfection, passing it by an (albeit aging) Zdeno Chara, and making Brandon Carlo fall over, while putting it right on the tape of Brown.
9. Goal vs. Flames (Jan. 24)
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Hyman puts on the jets, gets an almost well-placed shot off, and then when that doesn’t work, pokes the puck stuck between Elliott’s pads, and into the net in the first of three shorthanded goals to make the list. Not the prettiest, but the commitment is what counts on this one.
8. Assist on Matthews Goal vs. Devils (Nov. 23)
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Hyman once again shows off his skating ability, by putting a nifty little juke on Kyle Quincey before making a nice backhand pass to Matthews to break his goalless streak.
7. Assist on Matthews 1st Goal vs. Senators (Oct. 12)
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Much like #8, we see Hyman execute an almost wrap-around pass to Matthews, who buries his first NHL goal. The most notable difference is that this one sees him do it with both Chris Wideman and Mark Borowiecki in his way.
6. Assist on Matthews Goal vs. Panthers (Mar. 28)
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Another behind the net pass to Matthews, this one he pulls off with Derek MacKenzie and Jason Demers on his back, and passes it through Keith Yandle and Colton Sceviour right on the stick of Matthews for his Leafs record-breaking 35th goal as a rookie.
5. Goal vs. Panthers (Mar. 28)
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Let’s break from this pattern for a minute, and give you another display of Hyman’s speed. On the penalty kill, Hyman springs forward and receives a pass from Leo Komarov before sniping it past Reto Berra. Also a solid look at his shot when he can, you know, actually shoot it on net.
4. Assist on Matthews Goal vs. Canucks (Dec. 3)
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Ok, back to the behind the net passes to Matthews. It’s the last one, I promise. This one stands out above the rest due to the fact that it fooled just about every Canuck on the ice (although, it is the Canucks). It seemed like only Matthews saw that pass coming, and he made no mistake with burying it.
3. Goal vs Bruins (Dec. 10)
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While a decent chunk of Hyman’s even-strength goals were deflections, this is an exception. It may be like the others, except Hyman had full intentions of tipping it in, compared to it just hitting off of him. He did it with great accuracy, as he managed to get the stick high enough to make contact, low enough that it wasn’t a high stick, and fooled Rask.
2. Assist on Matthews Goal vs. Lightning (Dec. 29)
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Hyman puts his hands on display for this goal, deking Anton Stralman and Victor Hedman, including breaking Stralman’s ankles (or he just fell, but give it to Hyman). Whether this is a display of Hyman’s skill, or he just happened to have that moment where the hockey gods gave him the magic touch, it still looks pretty sexy.
1. Goal vs. Rangers (Jan. 19)
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Was there ever any doubt? He strips the puck off of Adam Clendening, and out waits Henrik Lundqvist to slide it past the legendary netminder. All while on the penalty kill. If you remember any of Hyman’s plays from this season going into this list, it was probably this one, so there’s no doubt that this is the number 1 play.
Up next, you better answer the damn phone, because it’s Uncle Leo’s turn on the highlight reels.
Previously in the series:
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