Flyers look disconnected in 4-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets as trade deadline looms

The NHL trade deadline is Friday, and in what could be Scott Laughton and Rasmus Ristolainen’s last game as members of the Flyers, the team laid a stinker on Thursday, losing, 4-1, to the Winnipeg Jets at the Wells Fargo Center.

After a five-game point streak, which included a 2-1 shootout win against these same Jets, Philly has now been outscored 10-4 in two straight losses. Like their setback Tuesday night to the Calgary Flames, they once again looked a step behind and disconnected.

How bad was it? Here’s what coach John Tortorella said:

“I’m going to lead off guys. I’m not going to,” he said before pausing. “My thoughts about the game tonight is going to stay in a locker room. What I say up here with you guys is going to do the team no good. We didn’t play well.”

The lone bright spot was Matvei Michkov snapping a shot from the left face-off circle to erase a goose egg with 2 minutes, 43 seconds left in the game. It is his 20th goal of the season and keeps him tied with Macklin Celebrini of San Jose for most among rookies. Celebrini scored in the Sharks’ 7-3 loss Thursday night in Denver.

» READ MORE: Scott Laughton and Rasmus Ristolainen’s trade value, dark horse trade candidates, and more from Flyers Reddit AMA

Entering the night, the Jets weren’t just tied for the No. 1 seed in the NHL with the Washington Capitals, they also held the top power play (31.2%) — and made the Flyers pay.

Mark Scheifele gave Winnipeg a 1-0 lead in the first period after Michkov was called for goalie interference. Flyers goalie Sam Ersson stopped the shot from the bumper by Winnipeg’s Gabriel Vilardi, but the rebound went to a wide-open Scheifele near the bottom of the left circle for a backhander.

Scheifele’s goal is his 35th of the season, tying him with Toronto’s William Nylander for the second-most in the NHL.

Still in the first period, the Jets got another power play, this time on a Tyson Foerster tripping call in the offensive zone. A circle-to-circle pass by Kyle Connor intended for Scheifele was nicked by Vilardi, appearing to freeze everyone, and Scheifele found Nikolaj Ehlers alone near the right post.

“Not sure, honestly,” captain Sean Couturier said when asked about the Flyers’ recent struggles with giving up high-danger chances. “Obviously, I think there’s maybe a lot of distractions off the ice, but it’s on us to do a better job coming to the rink and be focused.”

When asked if distractions played a role, defenseman Travis Sanheim responded: “I mean, maybe a few guys, but a lot of teams go through this. We know what’s coming. We’ve got to focus on our job and our business and worrying about winning hockey games right now. We’re in a race, and, yeah, we just got to be better.”

In the second period, the Jets scored another pair.

» READ MORE: Scott Laughton faces what could be his final game in a Flyers uniform: ‘It’s hard not to think about’

Breaking out of the zone, Scheifele hit a streaking Connor down the right wing, and he scored from the right circle. Adam Lowry added another when he crashed the net off the rush and banged home a pass from Mason Appleton. Travis Konecny tried to stay with him and banged his stick off the ice and the post in frustration after the goal.

“I think all the goals, if you get scored on, you can do something different,” Ersson said. “I think I need to be a little bit more patient, just try to trust my reads a little bit more. I think that’s a huge part of my game, and it’s lacking a little bit right now. And I feel like that’s kind of what’s been the issue.”

Laughton laid a monster hit on Dylan DeMelo that sent the defenseman flying. … Forward Garnet Hathaway missed his third straight game with an upper-body injury. … Michkov is the second rookie in as many seasons to reach the 20-goal mark. Tyson Foerster scored 20 last season. The Russian rookie has 46 points on the season.

The NHL trade deadline is 3 p.m. on Friday. On Saturday, the Flyers host the Seattle Kraken (12:30 p.m., ABC, ESPN+) for the first of back-to-back afternoon games at the Wells Fargo Center. The New Jersey Devils visit on Sunday (1 p.m., TNT, truTV, Max).