With a back-to-back road set ahead out West, the Flyers called up forward Jackson Cates on Thursday.
To make room for Cates on the roster, the Flyers placed Joel Farabee on injured reserve. The 21-year-old winger is considered week to week with a shoulder injury.
Trying to desperately quell a concerning losing streak, which has reached 10 games, the Flyers play the Golden Knights on Friday in Las Vegas (10 p.m. ET/NBCSP) and the Coyotes on Saturday in Glendale, Arizona (9 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
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Vegas is starting to find its stride, having scored 15 goals over its last three games (3-0-0). The Flyers have surrendered 17 goals in their last three games (0-3-0).
The 24-year-old Cates gives the Flyers some insurance for the trip. Friday and Saturday mark the fourth and fifth games in seven days for the Flyers, who are fighting adversity-filled times. They fired head coach Alain Vigneault and assistant coach Michel Therrien on Monday. They are 0-8-2 in their 10-game spiral and 8-12-4 overall.
The Flyers have had three forwards recently return from injuries: Kevin Hayes (abdominal) a week ago, Patrick Brown (thumb) on Sunday and Derick Brassard (hip) last night. The team likely has some other forwards battling bumps and bruises, as well, so Cates will be another forward available along with Max Willman.
It's uncertain if Cates will enter the lineup. He'll be a fresh pair of legs if interim head coach Mike Yeo needs them. Cates hasn't played a game since last Friday with AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley.
NHL
A college product and native of Stillwater, Minnesota, Cates trained in the offseason with Flyers defenseman Justin Braun and other pro players like Nate Schmidt, Kyle Rau, Mitch Reinke and Austin Poganski.
"I had a good summer of training," Cates said during the preseason in October. "It was nice, I worked out at the [University of Minnesota] with a bunch of pros. It was totally new to me in terms of the TriPhasic Training they did. I liked it a lot, so worked hard, trained five days a week — it was a good summer."
Cates is a defensively responsible center who can play some winger. He has two goals and three assists in 18 games with Lehigh Valley.
Update: Flyers hit Vegas looking to stop losing streak before it nears franchise marks
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