Flyers get reinforcements as they face Islanders

The gap between themselves and a playoff spot is not insurmountable, but the Philadelphia Flyers know full well they have a razor-thin margin for error over their final 15 games.

Therefore any boost or jolt of life is a good thing.

The Flyers are expecting two big pieces of great news when they visit the New York Islanders on Saturday, as both Jakub Voracek and Nolan Patrick expected to return to the lineup for the important clash.

"I'm good to go," Voracek told philly.com on Friday. "'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."

Voracek missed two games after being hit in the leg by a puck, while Patrick missed last game after being hit in the head by a puck.

The Flyers are coming off a 5-3 loss to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night, which snapped a two-game winning streak and 4-0-1 stretch.

Philadelphia is holding out hope for another torrid winning streak to close the gap, such as the 12-1-1 month-long run it put together starting in mid-January, and grab a playoff spot,

"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," interim coach Scott 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."

The Islanders are coming off a couple of ugly wins in consecutive victories over the NHL's cellar-dwelling Ottawa Senators but aren't apologizing for it. After all, the Islanders needed those wins to keep in the fight for top spot in the Metropolitan Division, the latest a 4-2 decision in Ottawa on Thursday night.

"We got two points and have to move on," head coach Barry Trotz said after his team's victory. "You have to look at the big picture. We've had some guys out, we've had all that, but when it's mattered, we've found ways to win."

Added Anthony Beauvillier, who scored the game-winning goal in Thursday's clash.

"It wasn't pretty the last two games, but four points is four points," Beauvillier told NHL.com.

Still, the Islanders are well aware they must be better on Saturday when they play host to a much more desperate Philadelphia Flyers squad.

"We're still scuffling a little bit," Trotz told Newsday. "The good thing is I thought we played more than one period. Our first and third periods were fine. In the second period, we forgot to do the necessary things."

At least the Islanders know they aren't firing on all cylinders, and can find another level of play.

"I think we can definitely play better," forward Valtteri Filppula said. "They had a lot of time in our zone and they made plays. They're tough to play against. But the important thing is we got the points."

--Field Level Media