Veteran Scott Laughton knows his game is ‘not good enough’ at the moment

Scott Laughton is fully aware his game is a little up and down right now.

The veteran forward has just one assist in his past five games, three points in his past 13, and two goals in 29 games this season for the Flyers.

“Not good enough,” Laughton said.

Yes, Laughton is playing key roles on special teams. The lone guy wearing an “A” this season, he ranks second behind Cam Atkinson for most time on ice while shorthanded (54 minutes and 19 seconds) among forwards, and three of his 13 points this season have come with the team down a man. He also gets looks on the second power-play unit; although you cannot ignore the fact that each five-man group is struggling.

But where Laughton gets tripped up the most is during five-on-five play. Among the 13 forwards, including the injured Noah Cates, he ranks 11th in Corsi for percentage (44.09%), and 13th in shots for percentage (48.07%) and expected goals for percentage (47.46%), per Natural Stat Trick. His individual expected goals is 3.34, and when he is on the ice, there’s an expected goals for of 13.63; by comparison, last season, during his breakout 43-point campaign, his individual expected goals was 9.0 and the expected goals for was 46.71.

» READ MORE: The Flyers’ dads trip has been an equally special experience for both the fathers and sons

Yikes.

“Probably confidence, I think, is a big one,” he told The Inquirer on Friday when asked what he needs to get back to his best. “Staying mentally with it and not getting too high or too low and continuing to try and build my game [and] be a good teammate. It’s gonna happen where you go through some stretches like this and I got to keep providing energy and consistency and do my job.”

During the Flyers 4-3 shootout win against the Washington Capitals, Laughton was dropped to the fourth line. The same thing happened earlier this year, when he flipped with Ryan Poehling and centered Garnet Hathaway and Nic Deslauriers. Coach John Tortorella thought Laughton “fought it a bit” during the game with some coverage and the pace.

Although he did drop, he remained a mainstay on the PK, and Laughton knows that he needs to translate the level he brings to the kill to even strength. As a penalty killer, he is part of a unit that snuffs out opposition rushes by stacking the blue line to create turnovers before heading up the ice. He knows he needs to bring that hard puck play while also creating forechecks and making it harder on opposing defense five-on-five.

“I think I just need to get more straightforward, get back to forechecking and creating turnovers,” Laughton said. “I don’t think it’s been good enough and you always want more of yourself, and I’m gonna continue to try and work toward that.”

Asked about the recent buzz in the building, which saw 18,557 fill the seats for Thursday night’s win, Tortorella says he hasn’t noticed, as his focus is on the team. That said, he knows what he needs to do to keep it going.

“We make our own bed,” he said. “We’ve got to play good hockey. We’ve got to win. We’ve got to get into some playoff series along the way, win some, and that’s when you start getting people back in. They don’t want to come in, they don’t come in. All we can do is try to be the best we can be and keep on building this the proper way.”

A big sports fan, Tortorella wants the Flyers to become a more prominent part of the local scene. But does he chat with his compatriots around town?

“Rob [Thomson] and I have exchanged a couple of texts along the way. Big hockey fan, Canadian,” Tortorella said of the Phillies manager. “I’ve kind of followed him a little bit during his runs here, but haven’t really talked to many people. I’d love to, but sometimes you’re in your seasons, and I rarely talk to [Ian Laperrière] our American League coach because we’re just so focused on our group.”

And what about Eagles coach Nick Sirianni?

“I haven’t,” Tortorella said before adding a fun twist. “Looks just like [Chicago Blackhawks forward] Nick Foligno. Every time I see him, I see Nick Foligno. I coached Nick [Foligno] for six years, every time I look at him it’s freaky to me.”

Carter Hart did not practice and will be unavailable for Saturday night’s game against newly acquired Patrick Kane and the Detroit Red Wings at Wells Fargo Center (7 p.m., NBCSP). Tortorella did not confirm that he will start Sam Ersson, but it will be the Swede and his countryman, Felix Sandström, as the goalie tandem again on Saturday. Sandström was loaned to Lehigh Valley on Friday but is expected to be recalled. ... Sean Couturier took a maintenance day and did not practice.