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Flyers loses key forward for Hurricanes series with lower-body injury
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- Flyers loses key forward for Hurricanes series with lower-body injury
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With Game 3 against the Carolina Hurricanes looming, the Philadelphia Flyers are desperate to get a win, as they trail 2-0. Now, they will be without a key forward, as he has a lower-body injury that will sideline him for the rest of the Second Round, according to Adam Kimelman of NHL.com.
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"Noah Cates will miss the remainder of the Eastern Conference Second Round for the Philadelphia Flyers because of a lower-body injury," Kiselman wrote.
It's a major loss for Philadelphia, which is already without Owen Tippett . Notably, the forward has been solid, generating four points over eight games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He has also averaged the most time on the power play and the penalty kill.
Despite the Flyers taking a lead in Game 2, they could not hold on and fell to the Canes in overtime. Ultimately, losing another player hurts their depth and could affect them throughout the series. Coach Rick Tocchett understands what the Flyers need to do to win, but there will be a more challenging aspect without Cates.
Losing Cates makes it more challenging to battle the Hurricanes' hottest line, which features Logan Stankoven, Taylor Hall, and Jackson Blake.
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"Going to have to manipulate how we're going to do with those lines. Obviously, the Stankoven line has been a pain in Ottawa's and our side, so we have to neutralize that line," Tocchett told Kiselman.
To compensate for the loss, the Flyers added Jett Luchanko, and he could join the lineup at some point in this series. For now, the Flyers will maintain their first line of Tyson Forester, Trevor Zegras, and Travis Koneckny. Alex Bump, Christian Dvorak, and Matvei Michkov make up the second line. Game 3 is tonight with the Flyers looking to avoid a 3-0 hole.
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