BOSTON – Jimmy Hayes certainly isn’t happy about being a healthy scratch for the last couple of games.



The 6-foot-6 right winger was scratched in the Saturday win over the Vancouver Canucks, and then was out of the lineup again in Monday night’s loss to the Nashville Predators at TD Garden.



Claude Julien said on Monday that he was going to keep any conversations about Hayes’ game between him and the player, but the Dorchester native certainly understands the message behind a healthy scratch status.



One point in his last 12 games and one shot on net or less in eight of those 12 games speaks to a forward that hasn’t been very effective, and certainly hasn’t been using his big frame nearly enough around the front of the net. Hayes was dropped to the fourth line in the last couple of games he did play in for the B’s, and was a non-factor in the wild road loss to the Calgary Flames.



So the 26-year-old Hayes knows there are improvements to be made.



“You obviously never want to be scratched. I’ve got to be better and find a way to get back into the lineup . . . and then stay in the lineup and be consistent,” said Hayes, who has four goals and 12 points in 24 games for the B’s this season. “You just have to be hard [to play against], stay positive and work hard in practice.



“Then when you get that shot in playing, and make the best of it. I’ve just got to find a way to be consistent every night, work hard and continue playing the big man’s style of game.”



Hayes is on pace for 13 goals and 40 points for the Bruins, which would fall short of the 20 goals that the Bruins certainly feel he’s capable of when firing on all cylinders like a 16-Wheeler in hockey pads.



The question now is when Hayes will get back into the Black and Gold lineup. Tyler Randell replaced him on the fourth line in the last couple of games, and scored a goal in Vancouver before beating the tar out of Eric Nystrom in the loss to Nashville. He’s found a way to make a difference for the Bruins regardless of whether or not his shots are falling, and that’s an area Hayes needs to make strides with one of the biggest bodies in the NHL.



Perhaps that chance will come for Hayes in Montreal after watching a couple of games from the press box, but he’ll stand ready either way for the instant Claude Julien feels he’s done enough to rejoin the top-12 forwards