Each week, we'll ask questions about the Flyers to our resident hockey analysts and see what they have to say.
Going End to End this week are CSNPhilly.com producer/reporter Tom Dougherty, CSNPhilly.com producer/reporter Jordan Hall and CSNPhilly.com producer/reporter Tim Riday.
The question: What are your first impressions of Dave Hakstol after his first four games as an NHL coach?
Dougherty
The one thing that has stood out to me in the first week and a half of the season is how different the Flyers are playing in the neutral zone under Hakstol this season. Save last Saturday's debacle in Sunrise, Florida, the orange and black have vastly improved their play in the middle portion of the ice.
Hakstol has the Flyers skating hard and forechecking hard, and as long as they continue to do that they're going to win games, as Kimmo Timonen said. But on top of that, the Flyers are much more active in the neutral zone, especially in the wins against Florida and Chicago this past week. They've done a solid job impeding opponents' attempts to get into the zone, making it harder for teams to break the blue line. Hakstol has this team playing as a unit, and the players appear to be buying into his system.
You heard general manager Ron Hextall preach about 200-foot players in the summer. And while that pertains to individual players, it also encompasses the team. It's a three-zone game, and the neutral zone appears to be an area Hakstol wants his team to focus on. So far, so good. We'll see if it continues, but the neutral-zone play is something that's impressed me.
In the very small sample size, Hakstol seems like he's on the road to being a quality NHL coach. That's a bold statement, I know, but this Flyers team doesn't have the talent it should in two or three years when it should be a much more competitive squad. It's a positive sign Hakstol has this group playing the way they have been: hard.
NHL
Hall
You've seen Hakstol's imprint right from the start — intangibly. The Flyers' players-only meeting after a humiliating 7-1 loss in just the second game of the season spoke volumes to Hakstol's influence.
A defeat such as that can do harmful damage to a team's psyche, especially for a group that has endured demoralizing slow starts in recent past. Something had to be said — nothing much, but something — and it shouldn't have had to come from the coach at this juncture. He set his precedents all throughout camp and preseason. The locker room realized it was a moment in need of some leadership and took charge. A simple pep talk can go a long way, and what do you know, the Flyers come home and pitch two emphatic shutouts — one against the defending champs.
That quick, little meeting to reaffirm what this team is set out to do stems from Hakstol. His character has had a trickle-down affect to the dressing room, which has translated to the ice. That's been his biggest impression only four games into the season.
Riday
If you've stopped by the Skate Zone in Voorhees, New Jersey, to watch practice recently, you've probably noticed the Flyers are constantly moving. Hakstol runs an uptempo practice. When a drill is completed, the players take a lap. Then it's on to the next drill, followed by another lap. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Why do I bring this up? It's important. Since the start of training camp, Hakstol has put an emphasis on conditioning and speed. So by having the Flyers practice hard, Hakstol is preparing them to compete at a high level when the games matter. The pace doesn't usually slow down in a game, so why take it easy in practice?
Most importantly, the Flyers seem to be buying in right out of the gate. You can tell they're genuinely having fun on the ice. Little verbal jabs, stick slaps or shoves in the corners in-between drills. That sort of stuff. They're not under a ton of pressure and it's a loose locker room.
Bottom line: Hakstol is creating a positive environment, but he also wants his guys to keep a competitive edge to their approach. He introduced the Flyers to a new drill he used at the University of North Dakota at Friday's practice session and the players' reaction was very encouraging. They battled hard and showed a great deal of emotion, even in the midst of a five-day break from game action.
It's still early, but Hakstol is pressing all the right buttons. In four games under the first-year coach, the Flyers took the Tampa Bay Lightning, a serious contender, to overtime in the opener, had a clunker — which happens to every team — in Florida against the Panthers before shutting them out in the back-end of a home-and-home. Then they dominated the defending the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks. Not bad at all for a guy with no NHL experience.
