Flyers’ tall order grows taller with 5 games in 9 days, starting with Islanders Saturday

The Flyers expect to have both Jake Voracek and Nolan Patrick back in the lineup when they face the New York Islanders on Saturday night at the Nassau Coliseum.

Voracek, who owns two of the Flyers’ longer streaks of consecutive games played, has missed two games since a puck caught him on the side of a knee in practice, requiring an MRI. Patrick was injured early in the first period of Sunday’s 4-1 victory over the Islanders after a slap shot caught him on the side of the head, creating a six-stitch cut and requiring him to pass the NHL concussion protocol.

Patrick was not in the lineup for Wednesday’s 5-3 home loss to Washington that stalled the Flyers’ long-shot march. The Flyers stood seven points behind Montreal and Carolina for the final playoff spot before Friday night’s games, with 15 games left.

After Saturday, the Flyers will have four games in seven days against Ottawa (Monday), Washington (Thursday), Toronto (Friday), and Pittsburgh (Sunday).

With the loss to Washington and rookie goaltending sensation Carter Hart’s return still uncertain — Brian Elliott will start against the Islanders — the Flyers’ tall order has become taller.

``Every game means pretty much everything,’’ defenseman Radko Gudas said.

Voracek had been, in the words of teammate and Czech countryman Gudas, ``one of our two best players’’ as the Flyers have run off a 16-4-2 record to at least be mentioned in the playoff hunt. He had three goals and six assists in the four games that preceded his injury, and his offense has been sorely missed, particularly on the power play.

``I’m good to go,’’ Voracek said. ``The days off helped. When I came off the bye week, I was re-energized again. Especially when you’re not winning like you’re supposed to, it can be tough on you. I went away, got some rest, and have felt great since then. Hopefully, this will feel the same as after the bye week.’’

His and Patrick’s absences forced interim coach Scott Gordon to scramble lines to the point that they were hardly recognizable. ``I think I played with everyone on the team tonight,’’ Travis Konecny mused after the unlikely victory Sunday over the Islanders.

Elliott was the game’s second star against the Islanders, stopping 29 of 30 shots. But he faltered against Washington, allowing four goals over the first 24 minutes, and was replaced by Cam Talbot.

``I’ve been in a similar situation in the American League where we had to go 13-3 to get in, and we had goalie issues then, too,’’ Gordon said. ``What I found is when you have to play that kind of hockey to get into the playoffs, you’re playoff-ready. You’ve had a certain mindset for a while. Sometimes it’s hard when you’re at the top, you’re waiting around for the playoffs to happen, and you can lose some of your sharpness.

``But we can talk about the playoffs all we want. We have to get the job done against the Islanders.’’