‘Big point’ maybe, but Hakstol not happy about it

PHILADELPHIA » Given that they were outplayed for 40 of the 64 minutes of a 4-3, overtime loss to the Arizona Coyotes Monday, the Flyers were forced into mining for small rewards.

Sean Couturier, who scored twice, including with 14.4 seconds left in regulation, located at least one.

“It’s a big point,” Couturier said, “that we didn’t deserve at all.”

A point here, a point there, and once they calculate the final standings, it could make a difference. By then, few will remember that it came against a team that had been 0-10-1.

“It could be huge,” Couturier said. “So we’ll take every one we can.”

The Flyers were behind, 3-0, before rallying. They lost when Alex Goligoski capitalized on a 3-on-2 with that identical 14.4 seconds showing, that after a midice turnover by Travis Sanheim.

That the Flyers were behind at all against Rick Tocchet’s winless team could have been the result of the Coyotes playing a more aggressive defense than the Flyers expected. At least that was one prevailing sentiment in the room.

Naturally, Dave Hakstol dismissed the notion, as he dismisses most notions.

“I don’t think they did a whole lot different,” he said. “They run a 1-2-2 system in the neutral zone. In the offensive zone, they clog things up. You’ve got to go north. You’ve got to get in on forechecks and we didn’t do that early enough in this hockey game.”