Center Kevin Hayes, who suffered a lower-body injury in last Sunday’s game in Las Vegas, was given a 50-50 chance at best to play against the Islanders, according to coach Alain Vigneault.
But Hayes took warmups without pain and was inserted into the lineup. He produced right away when he scored a power-play goal with 5:35 left in the first period to tie it at 1. He one-timed Rick Nash’s backhand pass from the boards for his 10th goal of the season.
Hayes had a team-leading 13 shot attempts (seven on goal, five attempts blocked and one miss).