A RARE smile stretched across the face of first-year Flyers coach Dave Hakstol after Sunday's optional skate. He had just got done giving a fair self-criticism of his first 20 games behind an NHL bench and was fresh off of a 4-0 loss in Ottawa. Quite simply, he said, both he and his team had to be better.
But despite the poor stretch of results and the goalless drought his team was enduring, was the rookie coach enjoying it?
"Absolutely," Hakstol said with a smile. "I love it."
Hakstol, 47, brought 19 years of head-coaching experience with him when the Flyers hired him this past offseason.