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Bad news for the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday, as they look towards Game 3 of their Stanley Cup Playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Center Noah Cates will be out for the remainder of the series with a lower-body injury. Head coach Rick Tocchet broke the news on Wednesday. Cates suffered the injury in Game 2 of the series against the Hurricanes.
Tocchet also mentioned that center Christian Dvorak is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. He was also absent from Wednesday’s practice.
During his Zoom media availability on Tuesday, Tocchet said that Cates was considered day-to-day. At that point, Tocchet had yet to speak with Flyers head trainer Tommy Alva. He mentioned that the conversation would happen later on Tuesday as the team continued to game-plan for Game 3.
The team held practice on Wednesday at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, New Jersey. Cates was a very clear absence from the skate.
Following practice, Tocchet confirmed that the center would miss the remainder of the series.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when and where the injury occurred, since he played the full game on Monday. From what you could tell, it looked like Cates blocked a shot from Hurricanes defenseman K’Andre Miller in the late half of the first period of Game 2.
Cates’ impact on the Flyers in the playoffs
Cates played a pivotal role for the Flyers as a penalty killer and as a reliable two-way defenseman.
Tocchet said he will look to Trevor Zegras, who was moved back to the wing late in Game 1 and for Game 2. He’ll also look to Denver Barkey, who moved to center corresponding to Zegras’ move to the wing, to pick up the slack down the middle.
It does not look like Jett Luchanko is in consideration for Game 3. Luchanko was called up by the Flyers on Wednesday following the conclusion of his OHL season.
Beyond his role as a two-way center at 5-on-5, Cates played a prominent role on the penalty kill as well.
With Owen Tippett’s status still unclear, Tocchet is looking at guys like Carl Grundstrom and Garnet Hathaway as people who can pick up the slack on the penalty kill.
He also leaves a hole on the power play. Cates was typically paired with Trevor Zegras for use at the faceoff dot and in front of the net. Sean Couturier may be someone who can help there, but Alex Bump is also being considered.
Cates has been averaging 16:10 minutes of ice time for the Flyers in the playoffs and has a goal and 4 points.
Game 3 between the Flyers and Hurricanes is on Thursday at 8:00 p.m. EST at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
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The post BREAKING: Noah Cates Out for the Remainder of the Series for the Flyers appeared first on Philly Hockey Now.
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