Avery Hayes knows his place as a rookie with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
And the speedy winger knows he can’t use “Hayes-ey” as a nickname within the confines of the team’s dressing room despite having likely responded to it throughout his first 23 years of life.
He will defer to veteran forward Kevin Hayes out of respect.
“’Hayes-ey,’ how far away is the airport?” Avery asked Kevin after a practice at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
“I’d say about a half hour,” Kevin said to Avery before proceeding to note some of the logistical challenges driving to Pittsburgh International Airport might present.
All of two games into his NHL career, Avery Hayes has a firm grasp of his standing and who “Hayse-ee” is.
“I feel like most people are usually talking to him,” Avery said of Kevin. “If they’re looking at me, I’ll answer. But usually, they’re talking to him.”
Avery Hayes initiated plenty of discussion when he made his NHL debut in stunning fashion Feb. 5 as he scored two goals during a 5-2 road win against the Buffalo Sabres.
And while he was held off the scoresheet during a 4-1 home win against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, there was plenty of good feedback on his performance as he skated on the left wing of the second line with veterans Rickard Rakell at center and Bryan Rust on the right wing.
Hayes logged 11 minutes, 47 seconds of ice time on 18 shifts and two shots as well as two penalty minutes for slashing Devils defenseman Simon Nemec.
“I thought I started off slow,” Hayes said. “But as the game went on, I thought I got better. I thought that was the story of our team, too. We got better as the game went on. I’d like to have that penalty back, but we got a couple of chances, too, which was nice.”
Perhaps Hayes’ most notable sequence came at 13:04 of the second period when he rushed up the ice on the right wing, drew a high-sticking infraction from Devils defenseman Jonathan Kovacevic and attacked the cage. After goaltender Jacob Markstrom denied his attempt at a stuff-in forehand shot, Hayes (5-foot-10, 180 pounds) shoved Kovacevic (6-5, 223) when the latter became bellicose with Rust.
“He was kind of roughing (Rust), and I didn’t like it,” Hayes said. “I like that part of the game. I like mixing it up. It keeps me engaged.”
Coach Dan Muse found Hayes’ play to be engaging on Thursday.
“He got some good looks,” Muse said. “Drawing the penalty, some scoring chances there, using the speed. You go both games, too, he works away from the puck. It’s not just the stuff with the puck, it’s not just the obvious, like goals and scoring chances. But I thought he did a good job in terms of just tracking and working back and going to the right areas.”
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The Devils’ lone goal Thursday was scored by forward Paul Cotter at 4:56 of the second period during a delayed penalty for the Penguins.
Muse issued a coach’s challenge on the sequence, alleging goaltender interference after Cotter’s right hip made contact with Silovs’ glove. Officials reviewed the sequence and found no evidence of any malfeasance.
That left Muse as 0 for 6 on coach’s challenges for goaltender interference this season.
“I’m at least that right now,” Muse quipped over the sextet of futility.
He proceeded to explain why he has been so aggressive in issuing the challenges despite poor results.
“The goalie interference is, it’s not always clear cut,” Muse said. “I’m not going into it saying, OK, we’re going to challenge if (I’m) 100% or even 90% or 80%. Sometimes I know it’s going to be less than that. But I think a lot of it depends on where we’re at in the game. That one I looked at, we were going to be killing a penalty no matter what. So, that maybe factors in a little bit.
“I also think that he’s in the blue paint. You got a goalie who … I felt like he didn’t get a full opportunity to do his job because of that. Did I think that was going to be a no-brainer, that we’re definitely going to get this? I didn’t. But I’m not always thinking that way. I don’t think I thought that way on many of those.
“So, there’s a lot of factors that are in play in the situation. Yeah, I know what the record is. Honestly, I’m not too concerned with that. I think that I’ll just keep challenging until I get one. … I mean, I’m going to go off of what I feel like is the best thing in that moment. And sometimes, too, I want to back up our goalie. And I didn’t think he got a totally fair shake there (trying to make) that save.”