FanNation

The Philadelphia Flyers will have to play Games 1 and 2 of the Eastern Conference finals without their top defenseman Kimmo Timonen. This is a devastating blow to the Flyers, with news of the injury coming on the eve of Game 1. Timonen was injured during Game 4 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals when he blocked a shot and the puck hit him square in the ankle. He played in Game 5 of the series where the Flyers went on to clinch the series victory; however he complained of pain during the entire game. He has a blood clot in his left foot and is on blood thinners to try and restore him back to playing condition. As of right now he is out indefinitely and he will not travel with the team to Pittsburgh. The Flyers have been bitten by the injury bug the entire season and this is a blow that they may not be able to withstand. They will replace Timonen with rookie defenseman Ryan Parent or veteran Jaraslav Modry. This is not the first time this post-season that Timonen has been injured. In Game 3 against the Washington Capitals, he was shoved into the goal and he smashed his shoulder off of the metal casing around the Goal-Cam. Many of the Philly faithful including myself were very worried about the Flyer's playoff future, but sure enough Kimmo was back in the lineup for game 4. Hopefully he will improve quickly for Games 3 and 4 back in Philly. Modry was acquired at the trade deadline from the LA Kings and has provided some needed veteran defensive help. Modry is very slow but he has a lot of experience and has a very good sense of awareness in the defensive zone. Ryan Parent was acquired from Nashville last season when the Flyers traded Peter Forsberg for him and Scotty Upshall. He is a rookie who played in a good number of games when the Flyers were injury plagued in the middle portion of the season. Personally I would play Modry. He has been around the league for a long time and he knows the game very well. Experience is needed in the playoffs and he can provide some leadership and experience on the Flyer blue line. Timonen was the main reason that the Flyers were able to shut down superstar Alexander Ovechkin and the Flyers were definitely counting on him to try and shut down Malkin and Crosby. the injury is unfortunate but I believe that the Flyers can battle through. Young defenseman Braydon Coburn who has been one of the Flyers top defenseman all season will have to keep playing as well as he has been playing the entire postseason. The Flyers were plagued with injuries the entire season and they battled their way through and made it to where they are now. Hopefully they can replace Timonen with a solid defender and continue their ideas of shutting down Malkin and Crosby. They will need someone else to step up and play big. Timonen has big shoes to fill but the Flyers are the team that will be able to fill them. They will have to rely on their forward to have a great forecheck and score goals rapidly to help out their defense. As I have written in a previous post I predicted the Flyers to win the series in seven. As a fan I can not pick against them and I completely stand by my pick. This injury is devastating but they will be able to overcome it.