VOORHEES — Whether the Flyers play with 11 forwards or 12 it doesn’t seem to matter because one way or another the lines are getting jumbled.

That’s been the case for a while now and it’s going to come in handy Wednesday when the Flyers will be without Jake Voracek due to a lower-body injury and perhaps also Nolan Patrick, who was hit in the head with Cal Clutterbuck’s shot Saturday night.

“I think everyone’s had an opportunity to play with everybody at this point so it’s not unfamiliar territory when you get out there. You’ve played with a lot of the guys,” Travis Konecny said. “I think it’s good, too, because when you run into situations like we did last game (when the plan was to go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen and Patrick’s injury took it to 10 forwards) you’re ready for whatever’s thrown at you throughout the game.”

Patrick is questionable to play against the defending champion Washington Capitals Wednesday. He did not practice with the team Tuesday but did skate and shoot on injured goalies Michal Neuvirth and Carter Hart before the full team took the ice. The Flyers will see how Patrick feels Wednesday morning and go from there.

If he can’t play, the Flyers will go with 11 forwards and seven defenseman against the Caps. Justin Bailey, recalled from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, will be among the forward group.

“Practice today was kind of weird missing a lot of players,” Claude Giroux said. “We know the position we’re in right now. These two points tomorrow are gonna be huge for us. We need to find chemistry and find it fast.

“(Patrick and Voracek are) big pieces to our team. We’re not too sure what’s going on with them too. The best thing we can do right now is worry about Washington. If Patty and Jake play or don’t play it’s about playing as one unit and taking care of business.”

There’s certainly no time to sulk with only 16 games remaining on the schedule and the Flyers needing to make up ground in a tight playoff race.

They are in desperation mode to produce offensively and get wins. They have been playing “playoff hockey” for a while now.

“I think it’s been that way for too long,” James van Riemsdyk said. “It’s our new normal I guess where we have these games that mean so much for a while and we’ve had good responses so that’s definitely played to our advantage.”

So it won’t necessarily be a fight-or-flight scenario against Washington because the Flyers have dealt with new lines before and have dealt with must-win games in their stretch of seven out of nine games against divisional opponents.

Behind the bench, interim coach Scott Gordon seems to have pushed a lot of the right buttons as a mad scientist with line combinations changing from shift to shift.

“I think the important piece is the consistency with system play. If everybody’s in the right position it shouldn’t matter who’s on the ice,” Gordon said. “Obviously there’s some chemistry that guys develop over the course of the year but given we’re in the situation where we have some injuries, we’ve gotta adjust on the fly here. I think it has more to do with there’s a lot of stuff we’re doing in the neutral zone that has allowed us to create some chemistry. We’re on the same page and as a result it’s really just a question of who’s in the right place at the right time and gets the benefits of all the good work.”

“I think the fact that we’ve been doing a little bit of the 11-forward thing, it’s a little easier,” van Riemsdyk added. “When you’re mixing and matching things it makes it a little tougher to get into a rhythm but since we’ve been doing it a little bit, it makes it a little easier of an adjustment to play. You’ve got a little more of a feel for how you’re gonna get out there and stuff and then certainly makes it easier for everyone to get into the groove of the game.”

Friday Night Fights

Later this month, the Flyers’ alumni will gather their tough guys and some of the players they dropped the gloves with for a celebration of old-time hockey. On March 22 at South Philly boxing venue 2300 Arena, fans can meet some local alumni like Dave Schultz, Dave Brown, Daryl Stanley and Bob Kelly as well as ex-Bruin Terry O'Reilly and journeymen Chris Nilan and Marty McSorley. More participants are expected to be announced.

Tickets are available for $100 at 2300arena.com. VIP tickets are also available and include a catered dinner, beverage and a pre-event private meet-and-greet with alumni. VIP tables ($2,400 for a table of eight) are available for purchase through Brad Marsh at 215-952-5946 or brad_marsh@comcastspectacor.com.

Hart not ready yet

As part of general manager Chuck Fletcher’s injury report he filed from Boca Raton, Florida, at the NHL’s GM meetings, he mentioned that Hart is “doing very well” after injuring his ankle and he may join the team for Wednesday’s morning skate. Even if he does, don’t expect an immediate return.

“I don’t think he’ll be ready for the weekend,” Gordon said. “I haven’t talked to anybody but given the fact that he hasn’t had one practice in, what is it, two weeks now? He was on the ice today. I don’t know what the end result was as far as how he felt but I do know we can’t even think about putting him in a game until he’s had a few practices and feels comfortable enough to say that there’s nothing that’s gonna lead to a setback.”

Dave Isaac; @davegisaac; 856-486-2479; disaac@gannett.com