After the Philadelphia Flyers forward at 4:37 of the second period of a 2-1 overtime win against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday, he immediately pointed to the sky, in honor of his late brother.
Jimmy played seven seasons in the NHL and retired after the 2017-18 season. He died in August at the age of 31.
Kevin was given the puck from his goal, and planned on making it a special keepsake.
"[The] trainers got the puck for me," Kevin said. "I'm gonna give it to Jimmy's kid, Jimmy son Beau. It'll be one I'll remember forever."
Calgary forward Johnny Gaudreau, who played with Kevin Hayes at Boston College, knew the shot was bigger than hockey.
"Personally really, really happy for him," Gaudreau said. "He's gone through a lot these past few months. It's hard because he's on the other team and I don't want them to score, but I was happy for him. He deserved it."
Kevin underwent abdominal surgery in Sept. 21 and played his first game of the season in a 5-2 loss at the Dallas Stars on Saturday.
Flyers forward Cam Atkinson is happy to have Kevin back in the lineup and couldn't contain his excitement after the memorable goal.
"I think you could see it on my face," Atkinson said. "I think everything happens for a reason and I was the first guy to hug him. It's a big goal not only for our team, obviously, but for Kevin. I think we'll all remember this for a long, long time. It's special."
