Hynes, coach of the Nashville Predators (27-14-3), who are second in the Central Division, said the team has clicked since training camp.
"We had a hard camp," he said. "We pushed the guys, they knew they were going to be pushed but not once did we have to stop a practice or have a meeting where it's like, 'OK, we need more competitiveness, or the work ethic has to be higher.' The guys were at a different level than we've seen them work-wise and consistently and that was a really good sign."
Nashville has won three games in a row and is 8-3-1 in its past 12 games.
"From there, everyone was on board in doing that and the team is close also," Hynes said. "We have a good locker room. Some of our younger guys that have come in, they're really good kids. I think our veteran players have done a good job of setting the example, but the young guys come in and they've pushed. We don't have guys in here happy to be in the National Hockey League. they want to impact the team and our veteran players have provided a welcoming environment for that."
Resch, a goalie for the New York Islanders from 1974-81, fondly remembered his former teammate, Hockey Hall of Fame forward Clark Gillies, who died Jan. 21 of cancer at age 67.
"In my era, when you had a lot of guys coming up and they were Clark's size (6-foot-3, 215 pounds) and didn't play that well, didn't have the skill and they were stuck in the role of kind of being an enforcer or tough guy or whatever," said Resch, now a radio color analyst for the New Jersey Devils. "No one ever looked at Clark like that because his skill level was so good right off the bat.
"He could skate. For a big guy, he wasn't gangly or disjointed in the way he flowed. He had a very nice skating style. He wasn't (former Islanders forward and Hall of Famer) Mike Bossy when he handled the puck, but he did that OK, too. No one ever looked at him as anything but, this guy is a terrific hockey player."
"The Chirp with Daren Millard" features interviews with players, executives, alumni and other personalities around the game. You can share your thoughts on Twitter using the hashtag #ChirpMillard.
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