The Philadelphia Flyers are in a scoring slump as they dropped their fourth straight. But players like Scott Laughton are making an impression.
In John Tortorella's much-publicized letter to Philadelphia Flyers season-ticket holders two weeks ago, he wrote, "We're in the thick of the season right now, and we're going to see how our group responds to the challenges that lay ahead with a gruelling schedule. It's a grind, but it's extremely important to see what we have and what we need to move forward."
Since that letter went out on Feb. 6, the Flyers are 1-4-1. Midway through a four-game Pacific Division road trip, they're riding a four-game losing streak which started with an overtime setback against Nashville, then home-and-home losses to the Seattle Kraken. On Saturday night, Philadelphia suffered its second-straight 6-2 loss of the road trip, to the Vancouver Canucks.
But while Tortorella could barely contain his frustration after his group managed just a single first-period shot at Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday night and was outshot 30-19 by the Kraken, he was more satisfied by his team's effort in Vancouver.
The Flyers held the edge in shots in the final two periods on Saturday, ultimately outshooting the Canucks 37-23. And a positive outcome remained within reach until Phil Di Giuseppe poked a puck into the net that Carter Hart thought he had frozen, giving the struggling Canucks a 4-2 lead with 9:56 left in the third period.
Elias Pettersson added a pair of empty-netters in the last two minutes, making the final score more one-sided than the game really was.
"We really need to try to find some more offense consistently," said Tortorella after Saturday's loss. "I thought our effort was better than last game."
Scott Laughton and Morgan Frost found the back of the net against Vancouver — and both are making bigger offensive contributions this season than they ever have before.
In past seasons, Frost dealt with injury issues and was shuffled in and out of the lineup. Now 23, he hit a new career high on Saturday as he played his 56th game this season. His second-period power-play tally marked his 11th goal and 27th point of the year — also personal bests.
Frost's average ice time has increased to 15:39 this season, a significant jump from 13:55 last year. He played 21:39 on Saturday, and his goal was the first of the year for him on the power play — and just the second of his career to come with the man advantage.
Opening the scoring with a first-period net-front deflection, Scott Laughton tied his career highs for goals (13) and points (32) on Saturday.
With Sean Couturier on the injured list, Laughton, 28, is the longest-serving Flyer on the team's current roster.
"I've been given an opportunity here to play a ton on special teams and play a ton during 5-on-5, but honestly, I don't really look at that stuff," Laughton said Saturday about his increased production. "I'm here for a while. You want to win."
Laughton's ice time has been rising steadily over the last four seasons and jumped by two-and-a-half minutes this year to 18:55 per game. Playing big minutes on the penalty kill and being used regularly on the power play for the first time in his career, half of his 32 points have come in odd-man situations — nine with the man advantage and seven while shorthanded, which is tops in the league.
In Tortorella's world, those opportunities are earned, not given.
"The way Laughts plays should transfer to other players," he said. "He plays hard. He plays both ends of the ice. He's just a good example, to watch him play the game of hockey."
Chosen 20th overall by the Flyers in 2012, Laughton is now in the second season of a five-year contract extension that will take him through the 2025-26 season. On a team that has been captainless since Claude Giroux was traded a year ago, he has been wearing the only 'A' among the current roster — another indicator that he's a player Tortorella would be happy to build around.
And after some early-season difficulties, including a late-game benching, Tortorella and Travis Konecny also seem to have found some common ground.
Philadelphia's leading scorer last season with 52 points in 79 games, Konecny matched that number in his 51st game of the year on Saturday with an assist on Frost's power-play goal. He also scored twice late in Thursday's loss in Seattle, setting a new personal best of 26 goals with nearly two months still remaining in the season and ending a 13-game goal drought.
"He's begun to find his game," said Tortorella. "There's no question about that. Sooner or later, we knew that was going to come back. We just need to get other guys going to more consistency."
James van Riemsdyk led the Flyers with 24 goals last season, but as his name swirls in trade rumors while he approaches unrestricted free agency, the 33-year-old has gone quiet offensively, with just five points in his last 15 games.
Joel Farabee is another player who's expected to put points on the board. He has played every game this season after undergoing disc replacement surgery in late June but has gone cold lately. Farabee has 26 points for the year but just one assist in his last 14 games. He played a season-low 10:21 against Vancouver and did not see a shift after being on the ice for Di Giuseppe's 4-2 goal midway through the third.
After Saturday's loss, the Flyers sit 14th in the Eastern Conference standings, nine points out of a wild-card spot. Moneypuck.com puts their odds of securing a playoff berth at an infinitesimal 0.3 percent, but Laughton's not ready to concede a third-straight playoff miss quite yet.
"You want to be playing meaningful hockey at the end of the year and really start to push," he said. "So you know what, we're three or four games back. We've got to find a way here to even up this road trip and continue to have that belief in here, because I know a lot of guys do. We'll keep pushing."
The Flyers' road trip continues on Monday afternoon in Calgary (4 p.m. ET), then Tuesday night in Edmonton (9 p.m. ET).