May 06, 2026
Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images
Noah Cates will be a major absence for the Flyers heading into Game 3.
Noah Cates didn't take the ice for practice Wednesday at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, and neither did Christian Dvorak.
Dvorak is being considered "more day-to-day," head coach Rick Tocchet said, adding that "he's a good possibility" to be able to play in Thursday night's return home for Game 3 of the Flyers' second-round playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Cates, though, is out for the series, Tocchet confirmed, "That's all I got for that right now."
Following Game 2's overtime loss in Carolina on Monday night, the center was getting wheeled down a hallway on a cart while holding a walking boot for his right foot, as spotted by the Philadelphia Inquirer's Mike Sielski.
On Tuesday, during a Zoom call with the local media, Tocchet didn't have much to say immediately about Cates' status, other than he was on the assumption that Cates was "day-to-day," until he spoke to head athletic trainer Tommy Alva later on.
A day later, the official ruling was much more severe, which puts the Flyers' lineup in a tough bind as it tries to start working its way out of a 2-0 series hole against Carolina.
The Flyers, very notably, have been at a lack of center depth for the past few years, but Cates has developed into one of their best two-way checking forwards, and this season, he enjoyed a career year.
The 27-year-old scored 18 goals and 29 assists for 47 points, and skated with a plus-26 rating, which were all career highs, at an average of 16:14 of ice time.
During the push down the stretch of the regular season and into the playoffs, Cates settled in as the center for the line with Matvei Michkov and Tyson Foerster on the wings, and took up roles on both the penalty kill and power play.
Through the Flyers' eight playoff games so far, Cates has a line of one goal, three assists, four points, and a minus-2 rating at an average ice time of 16:20.
Against Carolina on Monday night in Game 2, Cates skated 20:53.
With Cates out, Tocchet said on Wednesday that the team will be leaning on Trevor Zegras sliding back over to center (he moved to the left wing of Dvorak at center and Travis Konecny on the right to start the Carolina series), along with rookie Denver Barkey's continued look down the middle and captain Sean Couturier, who has thrived in his more physical, heavy-hitting role at the bottom of the lineup.
Veteran Luke Glendening can also hold his own in the faceoff circle, and 2024 first-round prospect Jett Luchanko was recalled from juniors and on the ice Wednesday, though it's unlikely that the speedy center gets thrown headfirst into a crucial Stanley Cup Playoff game.
The Flyers do have options, but it's a tough spot.
"He's a huge part, he's Mr. Consistency, right?" Tocchet said Wednesday of Cates. "He does a lot of things for us, but it's no different from other teams; next man up. You've heard the drill before."
"Now you see like a Barkey getting more time at center, thought he did a nice job. Trevor's gonna have to move back to center again to get him going, and obviously, Coots has played really well, we got Dvo," Tocchet added, which reinforced that Dvorak might be OK for Game 3. "We're good there. We'll be OK."
Dvorak, who signed a one-year deal with the Flyers in the summer and re-upped on a five-year extension, has been a consistent play-driving center for the team's top six, posting 18 goals and 51 points with a plus-11 rating during the regular season, and then three assists with a plus-2 rating through the playoffs.
The 30-year-old has taken a lot of punishment ever since the postseason started, though, as evidenced by the gnarly cut around his eye as he left the clinching Game 6 against the Penguins in the first round and through the first two games against the Hurricanes, Monday night's loss included.
But it appears that Dvorak will try to push through more.
Christian Dvorak has been taking a beating recently. #Flyers back to the PP. pic.twitter.com/Vik636IW94
— Flyers Nation (@FlyersNation) May 5, 2026
In better injury news for the Flyers, Owen Tippett also returned to practice on Wednesday, after staying off the ice entirely ever since the team put away the Penguins.
Tippett has been skating through some kind of injury for a while, but his blend of overwhelming strength and acceleration along the wall and with the puck as a power forward make the Flyers a far more threatening team.
Collectively, the Flyers have had an issue driving to the net and firing against Carolina – even though Game 2 was a much better effort – and they've been especially missing Tippett's presence in that regard.
His playing status for Thursday night's return home still isn't confirmed, but the Flyers do need him, and have to hope that him skating on Wednesday is an encouraging sign that he'll be back.
SIGN UP HERE to receive the PhillyVoice Sports newsletter
Follow Nick on Twitter: @itssnick
Follow Nick on Bluesky: @itssnick
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
