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BENCHED! Flyers’ Kevin Hayes a Healthy Scratch against Rangers

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Kevin Hayes. Philadelphia Flyers

The cat and mouse game between Kevin Hayes and John Tortorella continues. The Philadelphia Flyers veteran forward was a healthy scratch against the New York Rangers on Saturday.

The Rangers won, 6-3.

Hayes was most recently benched during the third period against the New Jersey Devils. Tortorella chose not to explain the decision.

He’s deciding to do the same in regards to this move as well — though, he did offer some thought that went into the decision.

“I’ve got to look at the big picture of what this team is going to be, what the standard is, of how we have to play,” he said before the game. “That far outweighs losing some offense in a particular game. I’ll give you that.”

Hayes is the Flyers’ top point producer with 29 points in 31 games. He has nine points in his last 10 games, but hasn’t scored in his last four. 

While this was the first time Tortorella decided to scratch Hayes for the entire game, it was not the first time the two have seemingly butted heads.

Along with Travis Konecny, the two were benched for the final period against the Sharks on Oct. 23. Neither the coach nor the players had much to say about it afterwards.

Hayes responded well, assisting on two of the Flyers’ four goals. He didn’t talk to Tortorella following the benching, simply deciding to move on from it.

Wonder if he will decide to have that talk now?

“I don’t think I would seek out a coach in Game 6. I don’t think that’s the right timing,” Hayes said earlier in the season. “He’s a new coach, we’re getting to know each other. I would be a bit more concerned if it was Game 30 or…I’d probably seek him out then”

Well, Kevin, this is Game 32 of the Philadelphia Flyers season. Might be the time to have a talk with your coach.

Signs of dissatisfaction 

There have been other subtle moments to show the dissatisfaction Tortorella has had. There was the time Hayes was dropped to a line with Patrick Brown and Max Willman for a Nov. 19 game against Montreal.

Or when, in that same game, Tortorella decided to leave Hayes on the bench as the Flyers held onto a late one-goal lead. 

“I mean, you saw the guys I had out on the ice at the end. That kind of spells it out for you,” Tortorella said at the time.

The biggest piece of the puzzle came when Hayes was moved over to the wing and Noah Cates was his center man. Tortorella was straight to the point, saying Cates was more responsible defensively than Hayes.

Despite Hayes’ strong offensive year, there have been plenty of defensive lapses as well. Less responsibility means more time to work on bad habits that can be tough to change for someone who has been in the league as long as Hayes.

It may not be a permanent decision, but it is largely where Hayes has been since. And the Philadelphia Flyers didn’t have him in the lineup at all against the Rangers.

We will have to wait and see how this next saga goes. It is clear Tortorella is focused on setting the standard for this team.

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