Kevin Hayes Has Helped Revamp Flyers Penalty Kill

The centerman’s prowess on the Philadelphia Flyers penalty kill unit has made him worth almost every penny the team paid him this past offseason.

The Philadelphia Flyers penalty kill used to be one of the team’s worst assets. They spent almost every year at the bottom of the league in that stat. The unit lacked an aggressive style of play. That is until this season, however. Mike Yeo came in as an assistant coach, and one of his responsibilities involved the penalty kill. In his first season, he has completely changed the unit. And Kevin Hayes has helped prove that on the ice.

Hayes has the fourth most time among all Flyers on the penalty kill. His 105:59 time on ice is just behind Sean Couturier‘s 106:29. He averages about two minutes of shorthanded ice time per game. And while he’s been on the ice for a fair amount of goals against, he has also scored a few goals of his own. His four shorthanded goals are tied for first in the league with Chris Tierney.

It hasn’t been just the shorthanded goals themselves either. Each of Hayes’ four goals has come at a time when the Flyers needed them most. His first shorthanded goal came against the Columbus Blue Jackets back in October. At the time, the Flyers had just come back to tie the game in the third period after falling behind 4-2. While the team ended up winning 7-4, it was Hayes’ shorthanded goal that gave that the lead in the third period.

It was a few months before Hayes scored shorthanded again, but it ended up being the game-winning goal. Against the Washington Capitals in January, Hayes gave the Flyers the lead with about two minutes remaining in the second period. It had been a back and forth period where each team scored two goals. The Flyers were able to shut things down after Hayes’ goal gave them a boost.

A little less than a month later is when Hayes scored his third shorthanded goal of the season. This one came against the Colorado Avalanche and was his second special teams’ goal that game. He had scored a power-play goal at the end of the first period. The shorthanded goal in the third period came at a time when the Avalanche were buzzing and creating numerous chances. They had brought it back to a one-goal game earlier in the period.

His latest shorthanded goal happened against the Detroit Red Wings. Although Brian Elliott didn’t face a lot of shots against, the Wings did have some quality chances. Their power-play came with the Flyers only up 1-0.

Hayes has also done more than score goals. His puck-handling ability has been on display often when on the penalty kill. Just before the Flyers break, there was a sequence against the Pittsburgh Penguins where Hayes killed off about 15 seconds on his own. He was able to shield his body away and around at least three of the Penguins skaters. There was a moment where almost the entire Penguins offense was around him.

The Flyers penalty kill currently sits at 14th in the league at 81.1%. Only 6.1% separates them from the top-ranked San Jose Sharks unit. And there’s only a one percent difference between the Flyers and a top-ten ranked penalty kill. That’s a far jump from a group that finished 26th in the league at 78.5% last season. They have scored six shorthanded goals overall, one of which was an empty netter, ranking them sixth in the league. The unit is on pace to have their best finish since the 2015-16 season.

The additions of Hayes and Yeo have had a lot to do with the PK’s success, turning a dreadful unit to one of the better-shorthanded groups currently in the NHL.