UPDATE: Timonen arrived early with the other regulars, was not wearing a soft cast, and is expected to play. Final decision will come in warm-ups.
**
That the Flyers didn't have another Friday Night Massacre where they announced bad news late into the evening was a relief, as it pertained to defenseman Kimmo Timonen.
That there was nothing to announce tells us that x-rays/MRIs were negative on the left hand injury he suffered during the Winter Classic..
We thought something happened in the first period against Chicago but as it turned out, this was pain in the hand from an injury suffered the previous game.
With Chris Pronger already shelved, this team can't afford to lose another No. 1 defenseman, especially given the shaky goaltending, of late.
No one is quite sure what to make of the roster move of placing Matt Walker on waivers without recalling Erik Gustafsson, and as Gus told reporters after Friday's game against Hershey, he was not told of a call-up.
So, are the Flyers hoping someone claims Walker so they can clear cap space for a trade? Good luck with that.
So why do it? Unless they were fearing the worst with Timonen and wanted the option of having a roster spot and cap space?
The rumors late Friday was Timonen might be available this weekend. I'm thinking he takes today's game off - much like Jaromir Jagr _ and tries to play tomorrow in Ottawa.
But I also like Matt Carle's thinking. He told me he didn't think it was necessary to juggle rosters when he, Braydon Coburn and Andrej Meszaros were fully capable of sucking it up and playing heavy minutes for a couple games in succession, if necessary.
“Among myself, Cobie and Mes, we’re all capable of playing 25-plus minutes a night,” Carle said.
“If we need to do that, we have other guys who are NHL-caliber defensemen very capable of stepping in and playing more minutes. I don’t think it is something to panic about. Hopefully, he gets healthy.”
That still doesn't answer who is the 6th d-man today if Timonen is not ready.
Here's some more FLyer news on CSNPhilly.com:
click here 
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»