The Flyers (21-18-7) on Friday night wrap up their eight-game regular-season series with the Rangers (23-18-6).
Let’s get into the essentials for the game:
- When: 7 p.m. ET with The Warm Up at 6 p.m. ET and Flyers Pregame Live at 6:15 p.m. ET
- Where: Madison Square Garden
- Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia
- Live stream: NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com and the NBC Sports MyTeams app
• Jackson Cates is set to make his NHL debut tonight, according to his agent Ben Hankinson. Cates will become the fourth Flyer to make his debut this season, joining Maksim Sushko, Tanner Laczynski and Wade Allison.
A 23-year-old center out of Minnesota Duluth, Cates was a college free agent and signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Flyers 10 days ago. The 6-foot, 190-pound Cates turned pro after a strong junior season in which he put up 27 points (11 goals, 16 assists) over 28 games for the Bulldogs.
“Jackson is a really smart center who can make plays,” Minnesota Duluth head coach Scott Sandelin said to NBC Sports Philadelphia. “Strong skater, has a good shot and ability to score. Plays a good 200-foot game. He played a big role on our PP and also killed penalties.”
With Cates’ debut, the Flyers have played 15 rookies over the last two seasons.
Cates’ brother Noah Cates was a 2017 fifth-round draft pick of the Flyers and has developed into one of the club’s better college prospects. The 22-year-old junior forward recently decided to return to Minnesota Duluth for his senior season.
“I thought this was the best place for me,” Jackson Cates said before Friday night’s game. “I’m excited to see where it takes both of us.”
• The Flyers’ season matchup with the Rangers has been a puzzling one.
The Flyers have taken the last two games by a combined score of 5-3. Before those pair of games, the Flyers had lost the prior two matchups by a combined score of 17-3.
Alain Vigneault’s club has gone 4-2-1 against New York this season. The fifth-place Rangers are three points ahead of the sixth-place Flyers, who have a game in hand. Both teams are serious long shots to catch the fourth-place Bruins for the East Division’s final playoff spot. With 10 games remaining, the Flyers are 11 points back of Boston.
• After Brian Elliott made 33 saves in the team’s 3-2 win Thursday night over the Rangers, Alex Lyon will make his second NHL start in 14 and a half months tonight. Carter Hart (mild knee sprain) did not travel to New York.
Projected lineup
Forwards
Claude Giroux-Sean Couturier-Jakub Voracek
Joel Farabee-Kevin Hayes-Wade Allison
James van Riemsdyk-Scott Laughton-Travis Konecny
Oskar Lindblom-Jackson Cates-Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Defensemen
Ivan Provorov-Justin Braun
Travis Sanheim-Robert Hagg
Shayne Gostisbehere-Philippe Myers
Goalies
Alex Lyon
Brian Elliott
Subscribe to and rate Flyers Talk
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | YouTube
