As Flyers try to end their losing streak, DJ Owen Tippett handles the pregame soundtrack

The Flyers enter Thursday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning with the dark cloud of five straight losses looming over their heads.

Although they played a little better and more connected in the last two games, including a 5-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, they have been outscored by 22-8 across that stretch.

Entering Thursday, the Flyers sit eight points out of a playoff spot with the seventh-worst points percentage in the NHL. Coach John Tortorella reiterated that his team is still trying to win games, but he does have to face the stark reality of where the team is.

“You know what’s challenging for me? I feel bad for those guys,” he said, motioning to his team on the ice below as the Flyers participated in the morning skate. “I feel for my team. Especially the guys that ... have gone through this for three years. They’ve done their work. They’ve pushed. I think guys have developed. They’ve hung together. They’ve stuck together. This is the first time in at least the last two years that it’s a tough hill to climb.”

Tortorella agreed that the moves general manager Danny Brière made at the trade deadline were necessary.

“Then we’re here,” he said about trading away a handful of players from the NHL roster. “It [stinks], but we just have to keep our eye on the ball. I have to stay patient as far as some of the things [we are] probably going to go through in the last quarter of the year — evaluate, as you guys are asking about, but also try to win. ...

“It’s hard, though. Those are the guys that it’s hard for. They’re seeing teams ramping up, and that’s the greatest time of the year, and it’s difficult for them to watch.”

The bench boss is expecting effort down the stretch. “That’s all we can hang our hat on,” he said about the Flyers playing as hard as they can in the last 16 games of the season. “Try to find a way to win some games, try to have some fun, and then we’ll see where we go with the process.”

Despite everything, at the morning skate, the Flyers did seem like a loose squad. They looked like they were having fun.

After Tyson Foerster’s line, which includes Noah Cates and now Travis Konecny, scored on goalie Ivan Fedotov, a big cheer went up as Foerster’s hands were raised in the air in celebration. At one point, resident tough guy Nick Deslauriers was making playful jabs at the much shorter Bobby Brink.

And after they got done stretching, some practiced faceoffs while captain Sean Couturier was one of a handful of players working on his shot — akin to the one stopped by the blade of Ottawa forward Matthew Highmore’s stick on Tuesday.

» READ MORE: Jamie Drysdale emerges as a bright spot as the Flyers’ season spirals away

Then there were the vibes in the room, which are now in the hands of Owen Tippett. “I took over,” the forward said with a smile. He is now in charge of the music.

The playlist for an NHL team is essential as it helps fuel a squad from the moment the players walk into an arena for a game right on through the postgame.

“It is,” defenseman Cam York said, stressing how important the right playlist is. “I think it kind of tunes guys in, and we have a good range of music. So everybody kind of has a song that can help dial them into the task at hand, and it definitely gets you more prepared for the game.”

Scott Laughton used to be the team DJ, with input from Joel Farabee. But they have been traded, and Tippett has been handed the reins on the 105-song playlist.

“I think that’s one thing Laughty did great, was kind of making sure the mood was always right and the right songs were playing at the right time,” Tippett said. “So, you know, a little added pressure.”

The Flyers forward is new to being a full-time team DJ. He did it a handful of times playing for Mississauga and Saginaw of the Ontario Hockey League. But after Laughton dropped the playlist in the group chat — yes, there is a group chat — to hand it off to whoever wanted it, a few guys chimed in that they were interested.

That is, until Tippett did because he’s the “closest guy that kind of offered up for the Bluetooth not to cut out.”

“Yeah, if it’s bad, it’s no good. A lot of pressure on the guy,” defenseman Travis Sanheim said with a chuckle about the quality of the playlists. “But, yeah, Owen’s got good taste and pretty similar to Laughts in a lot of the songs that he’s playing.”

Much hasn’t changed just yet. But there is still time for Tippett to put his mark on the playlists. Yes, there are two: one for the pregame and one for the on-ice warmups. There are some crossover songs but not many.

The warmup songs that play in the Wells Fargo Center will stay consistent for the most part. But before the trade deadline Laughton did make one change, swapping out Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird” for the Tragically Hip’s “Blow at High Dough.”

“We would always play it in the room before even walking out,” Tippett said in late February. “It was funny, it just so happened to be all the Canadian guys for the most part and I heard it. ...I was pretty happy about it.”

Back then, Tippett said that if he had a choice to add a song by the Hip he’d add “Nautical Disaster” to the playlist. He has played it a few times in the locker room, usually before meetings.

Although he may be avoiding cliches and trends and everything is bleak right now around the Flyers, Tippett is not only working on his game on the ice but also making it his music at work.

Goalie Sam Ersson will start against the Lightning (7 p.m., NBCSP). ... Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen will not play. According to Tortorella, he is a little banged up. ... Tortorella did not have an update on Garnet Hathaway. The forward is expected to miss his seventh straight game with an upper-body injury.