Dan Muse said that this weekend was an opportunity "for guys to raise their hand" to say "I want to be the next man up."
The Penguins sat a number of their regular players in this weekend back-to-back series against the Capitals, holding them out for bumps, bruises and minor injuries in order to get them healthy for the playoffs. Their replacements were players who largely haven't played NHL games in awhile, either because they were in the AHL or because they were healthy scratches.
Through a 6-3 loss at home on Saturday and now a 3-0 loss here in Washington on Sunday, none of those reinforcements raised their hand higher than Kevin Hayes.
Hayes, of course, scored a goal in Saturday's loss, a breakaway out of the penalty box. But he was even more noticeable for good today, centering a third line of Ville Koivunen and Justin Brazeau.
Hayes was at his best at the net-front, making use of his size fighting for loose pucks, winning battles and often getting those pucks to his wingers. His five shot attempts trailed only his winger Brazeau's eight, and the six from each of Sidney Crosby, Egor Chinakhov and Rickard Rakell.
The Penguins led 13-5 in shot attempts with Hayes on the ice at five-on-five, a rate of 72.22% that led the entire team. That was despite his line getting the fewest offensive zone starts -- just one.
"He's played really well," Dan Muse told me of Hayes. "Obviously, the goal yesterday, it was awesome to see. I I thought he had a really strong game there today. I thought he was around it a lot, good at both ends of the ice."
Hayes is just about everyone's favorite teammate. He's a leader and a good veteran presence for the younger players. He's tight with the core and other veterans -- he sits at the 'A' table on the plane, with Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson. So many players throughout the roster rave about Hayes' storytelling, and how he can captivate the room by just opening his mouth. He's kept a great attitude through his injury and extended time as a healthy scratch this season, and could often be good for a self-deprecating joke about his situation, even though he'd absolutely prefer to be in the lineup.
So for Hayes to finally get back into the lineup for a pair of games and show well has those around him thrilled for him.
"I can't say enough good things about Kevin Hayes," Muse said. "He's an amazing human being. He's an amazing teammate. I would honestly say he's toward the top of my list in terms of best teammates that I've ever seen in hockey. He's right at the very top. He's amazing. The situation this year is what it is. It's not easy for a veteran player like him to be sitting out as long as he has. At the end of the day, the lineup decisions fall on me. The way he's handled it, the impact that he makes in our locker room, that goes unseen by most. It's incredible."
Hayes presumably won't be in the lineup for Game 1 of the playoffs, assuming nobody gets hurt in the regular-season finale in St. Louis. But it'd be silly to think that the Penguins won't need reinforcements if they are to make a deep run. If there's a need for a forward to be put into the lineup, it's not crazy to think that it could be him. As nice as it would be for the "next man up" to be a young player, the younger forwards just haven't outplayed Hayes in this very limited sample size this weekend.
The intangibles Hayes brings and his impact on the room can't hurt, either.
THE ASYLUM
Hayes makes his case for 'next man up'
Dan Muse said that this weekend was an opportunity "for guys to raise their hand" to say "I want to be the next man up."
The Penguins sat a number of their regular players in this weekend back-to-back series against the Capitals, holding them out for bumps, bruises and minor injuries in order to get them healthy for the playoffs. Their replacements were players who largely haven't played NHL games in awhile, either because they were in the AHL or because they were healthy scratches.
Through a 6-3 loss at home on Saturday and now a 3-0 loss here in Washington on Sunday, none of those reinforcements raised their hand higher than Kevin Hayes.
Hayes, of course, scored a goal in Saturday's loss, a breakaway out of the penalty box. But he was even more noticeable for good today, centering a third line of Ville Koivunen and Justin Brazeau.
Hayes was at his best at the net-front, making use of his size fighting for loose pucks, winning battles and often getting those pucks to his wingers. His five shot attempts trailed only his winger Brazeau's eight, and the six from each of Sidney Crosby, Egor Chinakhov and Rickard Rakell.
The Penguins led 13-5 in shot attempts with Hayes on the ice at five-on-five, a rate of 72.22% that led the entire team. That was despite his line getting the fewest offensive zone starts -- just one.
"He's played really well," Dan Muse told me of Hayes. "Obviously, the goal yesterday, it was awesome to see. I I thought he had a really strong game there today. I thought he was around it a lot, good at both ends of the ice."
Hayes is just about everyone's favorite teammate. He's a leader and a good veteran presence for the younger players. He's tight with the core and other veterans -- he sits at the 'A' table on the plane, with Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson. So many players throughout the roster rave about Hayes' storytelling, and how he can captivate the room by just opening his mouth. He's kept a great attitude through his injury and extended time as a healthy scratch this season, and could often be good for a self-deprecating joke about his situation, even though he'd absolutely prefer to be in the lineup.
So for Hayes to finally get back into the lineup for a pair of games and show well has those around him thrilled for him.
"I can't say enough good things about Kevin Hayes," Muse said. "He's an amazing human being. He's an amazing teammate. I would honestly say he's toward the top of my list in terms of best teammates that I've ever seen in hockey. He's right at the very top. He's amazing. The situation this year is what it is. It's not easy for a veteran player like him to be sitting out as long as he has. At the end of the day, the lineup decisions fall on me. The way he's handled it, the impact that he makes in our locker room, that goes unseen by most. It's incredible."
Hayes presumably won't be in the lineup for Game 1 of the playoffs, assuming nobody gets hurt in the regular-season finale in St. Louis. But it'd be silly to think that the Penguins won't need reinforcements if they are to make a deep run. If there's a need for a forward to be put into the lineup, it's not crazy to think that it could be him. As nice as it would be for the "next man up" to be a young player, the younger forwards just haven't outplayed Hayes in this very limited sample size this weekend.
The intangibles Hayes brings and his impact on the room can't hurt, either.
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