It wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement from either side after Kevin Hayes returned to the Rangers’ lineup for their 6-2 win over the Stars on Tuesday night at the Garden.
Hayes, 23, had been a healthy scratch for the previous two games, which came on the heels of coach Alain Vigneault verbally eviscerating him last Tuesday in Nashville. But with a minor hand injury to Chris Kreider, and with Emerson Etem coming off just a horrid game at Florida on Saturday, Hayes drew back in.
“I thought it went well,” he said of his 13:38, which ended with no points but a plus-2 rating and some good moments throughout. “Some mental lapses I need to fix, but I thought it went pretty well.”
As for the previous week in light of Vigneault’s comments, Hayes deferred.
“I don’t even know what he said, to be honest,” Hayes said. “I don’t really read too much. But you never want to be out of the lineup, just work hard to get back in it.”
If he was surprised to be out, Hayes said, “I wasn’t playing great. I’m just trying to find my game and work hard and stick.”
As for Vigneault’s evaluation of Hayes’ game, the coach just said, “I thought for the most part, he tried hard, made a couple nice plays and I’m confident that he’s going to get better.”
Earlier in the day, Vigneault had flipped his comment from last week, when he had asked of Hayes: “Did we overestimate his possibilities?” This time, on Tuesday morning, Vigneault said, “Kevin has all the possibilities. He’s got great tools, we all know it. He’s got to find a way to put it all together. That’s what we’re working with him, to try to put it all together.”
Forward Jayson Megna played his first game as a Ranger after being called up on Monday, and he played a terrific game on the team’s best line with Derek Stepan and Rick Nash, getting rewarded with a late goal in the third period and an assist.
“I think it was a little bit of nerves to start, but it’s more of an exciting nervousness,” said Megna, who had 48 games of NHL experience with the Penguins. “You just want to get out there, get your first shift, get on the ice. What a great atmosphere out there to play a National Hockey League game in, it was a lot of fun.”
Kreider was out with a gash on the top of his right hand, the result of a fight on Saturday night against the Panthers. He said there was no structural damage, and labeled himself “day-to-day.” Vigneault said he expects him ready to play in the team’s next game, Saturday afternoon at the Garden against the Eastern Conference-leading Capitals.
Dylan McIlrath was a healthy scratch for the fourth straight game. The 23-year-old defenseman hasn’t played since Dan Girardi and Kevin Klein both came back from injury after the Christmas break on Dec. 28.
Nash played in his 900th career regular-season NHL game, joining Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester as the only players from the 2002 draft to play in at least 900 contests. Nash was selected No. 1 in that draft by the Blue Jackets, and Bouwmeester went No. 3 to the Panthers.