Dan Muse Discusses Kevin Hayes Playing On Penguins Top Line With Sidney Crosby

Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Muse made a change to his lineup on Friday.

Muse put Kevin Hayes on the top line alongside Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust. It was an interesting move, but the line played well, as Hayes had 18:06 of ice time and was a +1, while Crosby scored twice, and Rust had another to lift Pittsburgh to a 4-3 overtime win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Following the comeback win, Muse was asked about Hayes being placed on the top line, and he admitted he felt he did a “good job” and will likely keep them together.

“I thought he did a good job,” Muse said postgame on Friday. “I thought the line was going. They get that one early, and that was big for us, because just the I don’t know what it was, five minutes, I felt like we were flat. And so, to be able to go out there and for the line as a whole there to come up with the goal, I thought he had some good moments there in the offensive zone, some good puck pressures when we were getting on it to disrupt the play.

“So, I think anytime you have a first game where the lines are a little bit different, it might take a little bit of time to get going. But I thought there was definitely some good moments there.”

With the win, the Penguins improved to 12-6-5 and are holding onto the top Wild Card spot.

Pittsburgh will return to the ice on Saturday at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7 p.m. ET.

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