Noah Cates finding his game at the right time as the Flyers make final push for playoffs

COLUMBUS, Ohio ― It’s not a bad time for Noah Cates to find his game.

Although his team is mired in a six-pack of losses, and its playoff spot is slipping away — technically, the Flyers were out of the postseason with a Pittsburgh Penguins win Saturday afternoon — Cates has stepped up.

The forward has notched goals in consecutive games for the first time this season, each coming in big moments for the Flyers. His goal on Monday was the all-important first of the night in a 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Islanders. Friday night, he tied the game in an eventual 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.

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“Yeah, it’s huge,” Cates said. “You feel a little lighter out there and, when you’re shooting the puck, you feel like it’s going to go in every time. It’s big for me to try and help this team and especially this time of year, the depth and different things like that, everyone needs to be going. So, really happy that I’m helping and just need to keep it going. Every game is big here.”

The All-Star break has long been considered the demarcation line between the first and second halves of the NHL season. In the first half, Cates played 28 of the Flyers’ first 50 games — he missed six weeks with a broken foot — and notched one goal and four assists with a plus-minus of minus-7. Since the start of February, he has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 26 games and is minus-1.

“I think his whole game, I think he’s been inconsistent,” coach John Tortorella said in February. “It’s been a different year for him. Gets a ton of ice time last year, different lineup, has a major injury this year. I believe he will come around, because I think he’s that conscientious. It’s just been a little bit of an up-and-down type of season.”

Cates has certainly come around. A guy who can play center or wing — with wing being his natural position — he primarily played center last season and posted 38 points (13 goals and 25 assists) in 82 games. This year, he started off at center before being switched to wing alongside center Ryan Poehling and, for the last few weeks, Garnet Hathaway. Cates has been back at center recently with Sean Couturier either being a healthy scratch or injured.

Cates is now centering a line with Joel Farabee and Cam Atkinson with Couturier on the shelf after suffering an upper-body injury against the Islanders.

“He’s a great kid, he’s a great hockey player, and sometimes it goes that way, you’re doing all the right things and the puck just won’t go in the net,” Poehling said. “Seems like he’s had a bit of a year like that. It’s not he’s playing bad hockey, he’s been playing great hockey for us, and with a guy like that he can affect the game without being on the score sheet. So it’s nice for him to get on the score sheet and get the benefits from working so hard, doing all the right things.”

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Sam Ersson started against the Blue Jackets. ... Marc Staal and Erik Johnson, who played in Friday’s 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, joined Nic Deslauriers, Denis Gurianov, and Egor Zamula as healthy scratches. Ronnie Attard and Adam Ginning returned to the lineup and were expected to be a defensive pairing. ... South Jersey native Johnny Gaudreau returned to Columbus’ lineup after missing the last game with an illness.