Kevin Hayes returns to Penguins' lineup as club attempts to pull out of tailspin

Kevin Hayes has not enjoyed the experience of having to watch from the press box as the Pittsburgh Penguins navigate an early-season tailspin.

Hayes, who suffered an unspecified upper-body injury Nov. 5, returned to the Penguins’ lineup Saturday vs. Utah Hockey Club, but he missed the eight previous games as the Penguins went 2-6-1.

Unfortunately for Hayes and the Penguins, his first game back was more of the same as Utah came away with a 6-1 win at PPG Paints Arena.

“It’s never fun watching when the team’s losing,” Hayes said. “You wish you were out there with them. But I think that the morale hasn’t gone south. Guys are still sticking with it. We believe we have answers in this room. It’s just a matter of just providing those answers on a nightly basis.

“You don’t want to just lose, lose your morale and lose the mojo in the room — that’s when things go really south. We’re trying not to do that.”

Hayes skated 11 minutes, 24 seconds in the loss, recording a team-high five hits without a shot while winning 6 of 10 faceoffs.

Beginning the game as fourth-line right wing, Hayes shifted to center by night’s end.

After an off-day Sunday, Hayes took over at center on a third line with Drew O’Connor to his left and Valtteri Puustinen at right wing during Monday’s practice in Cranberry.

Before getting injured, the 32-year-old Hayes had contributed three goals and an assist in 14 games.

“He’s very crafty with the puck,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s not the most fleet-footed guy, but he’s a competitive guy and, when he has the puck, he has the ability to create offense. He has a lot of experience in the league, and so he can utilize that experience to be in the right spots. He’s positionally pretty sound. That’s what he brings to our team.”

Sullivan knows what he can expect from Hayes on a nightly basis as a part of the bottom six as well as on the Penguins’ second power-play unit.

For Sullivan, perhaps more important is Hayes’ presence in the locker room.

“I think the biggest thing he can bring to our team right now, quite honestly, is the personality and swagger that he brings into the dressing room,” Sullivan said. “(Reporters) who interact with him, you know what I’m talking about. I think that personality right now is an important element of trying to move this group in the right direction.”

Penguins trade for forward

The Penguins acquired forward Philip Tomasino from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round draft pick. Tomasino, 23, was a first-round (No. 24 overall) draft pick by Nashville in 2019 and has spent his entire career, parts of four seasons, with the club.

Signed through the rest of the season at $825,000, the 6-foot, left-handed Tomasino has appeared in 11 games with the Predators this year, posting no goals and one assist over 11:18 of nightly ice time.

He was a scratch for 10 of Nashville’s 21 games. A veteran of 159 NHL games, he has 23 career goals with 48 assists.

As a rookie in 2021-22, Tomasino played in 76 games, contributing 11 goals and 21 assists.

Glass, Lizotte still non-contact

Forwards Cody Glass and Blake Lizotte, both of whom remain on injured reserve because of concussions, skated with the Penguins in a noncontact capacity Monday. Previously, the two had been skating individually, “on the injured ice,” as Sullivan likes to say. Per Sullivan, rejoining the team for a session is “the next progression for their return to play. We’ll see how they respond. Their status hasn’t changed.”

Vellucci watches practice

Assistant coach Mike Vellucci was a spectator at Monday’s practice, seen chatting with president of hockey operations/general manager Kyle Dubas from the balcony that overlooks the main rink at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. Vellucci is recovering from an unspecified medical procedure last week.

Poulin sent to AHL

The Penguins reassigned forward Sam Poulin to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.

Poulin, the Penguins’ first-round (No. 21 overall) draft pick in 2019, has skated in a career-high six NHL contests this season after playing in three in 2022-23 and 2023-24.

During his latest stint in Pittsburgh, the 23-year-old averaged 10:06 of ice time and recorded one assist.