With captain dealt, Kevin Hayes assumes leadership role with Flyers

With the trade of longtime Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux, Kevin Hayes stepped in and took on more of a leadership role.

“I’m just trying to lead by example the best I can, vocally and on the ice,” Hayes said after scoring the game-winning shootout goal in the Flyers’ stunning 4-3 win over his former team. the New York Rangers. at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night. “I was a youngster in this league and I was blessed with good leadership here in New York.”

He mentioned Marty St. Louis, Rick Nash and Keith Yandle, veterans who helped him when he entered the league with the Blueshirts.

#Flyers the shooters had been 0 for 18 this season in shootout shooting before Hayes’ skillful shot against NYR’s Shesterkin, arguably the NHL’s best goaltender. https://t.co/7XCHrxN8Nb

— Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) April 4, 2022

pay ahead

Now Hayes, who turns 30 next month, is trying to pay him off to the many young or inexperienced players on the Flyers’ roster, such as Noah Cates, Owen Tippett, Ronnie Attard, Cam York, Morgan Frost, Joel Farabee and Hayden. Hogson.

“You learn from these guys, and when you’re a kid you don’t really realize it,” he said of the veteran Rangers in 2014-15, his rookie season. “When you’re a young boy, you’re just happy to be in the NHL. I’m sure they (the young Flyers) are happy to play in the NHL, but it’s hard work. You have to show up and be consistent, and that’s what I try to show them, and it’s nice to see the youngsters playing well.

Hayes has been the definition of consistency since returning from injury: 15 points in 15 games. He’s fully recovered from a groin infection and is playing with a lot more speed and pace than he did during his previous stint with the Flyers earlier this season.

He centered a line with newcomer Tippett and James van Riemsdyk on Sunday. Hayes assisted on Tippett’s first goal for the Flyers and helped send him off on two breakaways.

“I didn’t know much about him. I played a few games against him when he was with Florida,” Hayes said. “He’s a big, strong boy who skates hard and can shoot the puck. I think he had two or three breakaways today, and that shows the kind of player he is. He finds open areas and creates good scoring chances. It’s fun to play with.

“As I said, I didn’t know much about him, but it was a big surprise, honestly.”

‘Do not panic’

Hayes liked the composure the Flyers showed after Rangers rallied to tie the game at 3-3 with 4:20 left in regulation. They killed a penalty, survived the OT, then won in a shootout thanks to Hayes and goalkeeper Martin Jones.

All three Flyers goals were scored by 23-year-old Tippett; Farabee, 22 years old; and York, 21.

“There’s no panic in these young guys,” Hayes said. “They are part of our team, they are part of our future. We expect them to play like that, and that’s why they are in place.

After Rangers scored two goals within 12 seconds to level the score at 3-3 at the end of regulation time, “it could have been easy to shut up and say, ‘Oh here we go again’. But we didn’t We didn’t,” Hayes said. “We fought it all the way. I think we played well, except for those four minutes in the third. It was a good step for our team.

Freeze improvement

Frost, 22, continues to progress and was amid several scoring opportunities on Sunday. He had four shots, three blocks and won 4 of 7 faceoffs in 14:03 of ice time.

The former first-round selection is less hesitant and could be on the verge of scoring. He has three goals and 10 points in 42 games.

following

The Philadelphia Flyers (22-36-11) play a home-and-away series with Columbus (32-32-5) Tuesday at Wells Fargo Center and Thursday in Ohio.

Columbus scored a 2-1 win in the teams’ first meeting this season. Gerry Mayhew scored Philly’s only goal. Mayhew is now with Anaheim; in total, he has scored eight goals in 32 games this season.