Chayka: Winless Coyotes going through 'adjustment period'

Fear not, fans of the winless Arizona Coyotes: The desert club is simply adjusting to a new approach that will eventually lead to long-term success, according to general manager John Chayka.

"Could we have more points playing a different style if we trapped it up, slowed it down, and just played safe? Yeah, maybe, but we're not going to reach that threshold of where we want to get by playing that way," Chayka told Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports on Monday. "This is the way we're going to reach it and there's an adjustment period. We're going through it."

To say it has been tough sledding for the Coyotes in the early going of the season would be an understatement. Through six games, Arizona has failed to record a win - the lone NHL team to do so - and picked up just one of a possible 12 points.

The team's most recent defeat came Tuesday, as the Coyotes fell 3-1 to the Dallas Stars. But there was at least one bright spot - rookie netminder Adin Hill turned aside 31 shots in the loss.

The 21-year-old was recalled Monday and stepped in for a struggling Louis Domingue as starter Antti Raanta remains sidelined with a lower-body injury. The Coyotes acquired Raanta from the New York Rangers in an offseason deal, but injury concerns have limited him to just five periods of on-ice action.

"Adin Hill was solid," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet told reporters Tuesday. You're just looking for somebody to make a play and score a goal. Guys worked hard, just couldn't score."

Tocchet joined the Coyotes this offseason following back-to-back Stanley Cups as an assistant with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and is looking to implement a similar playing style with his new club.

Arizona's next chance to deliver its first win of the season comes Thursday in a rematch with the Stars.

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