Flyers D Timonen out indefinitely

May 9, 2008 - 1:18 AM PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- The Philadelphia Flyers' chances to reach the Stanley Cup Finals just got weaker.

Defenseman Kimmo Timonen will be out indefinitely with a foot injury, Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren announced Thursday as his team gets set to begin its Eastern Conference final series against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday.

An All-Star in his first season with Philadelphia, Timonen was hit in his left foot with a shot by Montreal Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov in Game Four of the conference semifinals. The blast resulted in a blood clot on the front of his foot near the area where Timonen ties the laces of his skate.

"Hugely disappointed, obviously," Timonen said. "I was not expecting to get this result this morning. It's the most disappointing thing in my hockey life, for sure."

Timonen is expected to miss the remainder of the playoffs with the injury.

"I was expecting to play (in Game One on Friday), and you go into the hospital to make sure everything is all right and come out knowing that the season is over, pretty much. How many times in your life do you get the chance to play in the conference finals, and maybe the Stanley Cup Finals? So this is the most disappointing moment in my life, hockey-wise.

"I asked the doctor the worst-case scenario what could happen, and he said, 'If you get hit there again, the blood clot might break up and go down to your toes, and then we have to cut off your toes.' So that is not a very good scenario."

After an MRI failed to reveal anything, Timonen had the foot examined at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania on Wednesday by vascular surgeon Dr. Ronald M. Fairman, who discovered the clot.

"They were thinking about a couple of options, either having surgery and try to remove it, but the best option for me, I think, is going on clot thinners," Timonen said. "Hopefully, those things help."

Holmgren, however, did not rule out a possible return should the team advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.

"There is some hope that in a week's time, there might be some improvement," Holmgren said. "But we will have to see how that goes. ... I think (returning) might be more of Kimmo's hope more than anything, which is admirable. Right now, we have to view this as, he is not a player for us for this series and we are going to have to march on.

"They just don't know how quickly the clot is going to respond to the medicine that he is going to be taking. ... I'm not going to hold out any hope that he will be back in this series (against Pittsburgh), and we will just see after that."

The loss of Timonen, who has been partnered with Braydon Coburn on the Flyers' top defensive unit, is a crushing blow to Philadelphia, which will have to count on someone else to help contain Pittsburgh's dynamic offensive duo of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

"It is what it is," Holmgren said. "We have to deal with it. It gives somebody else an opportunity to step up. Everybody else is going to have to do a bigger part, and we will see what happens.

"Obviously, you can't replace a player that does what Kimmo does for us. Somebody else is going to have to step up and the team is going to have to do a better job of dealing with it."

To replace Timonen in the lineup, the Flyers will dress either Jaroslav Modry, who has missed the team's last seven games due to the death of his father in the Czech Republic, or rookie Ryan Parent, who has made just one appearance this postseason.

"I really have not talked to (coach John Stevens) about that, so I don't know," Holmgren said.

"Hopefully, somebody can take my role," Timonen said. "I am sure there is going to be somebody playing really well. I am just hoping this is not a huge distraction for the team."

A 10th-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 1993, Timonen has recorded six assists and six penalty minutes in 12 games this postseason. The 33-year-old Finn notched eight goals and 44 points in 80 contests during the regular season.

In 653 career games with the Nashville Predators and Flyers, Timonen has collected 87 goals, 258 assists and 398 penalty minutes.