Losing Kimmo Timonen for the series against the Pittsburgh Penguins was a devastating subtraction for the Philadelphia Flyers. Here's a defenseman who played to a minus-rating just three times in 12 games, led the Flyers in time on ice and quarterbacked a power play that was humming through the first two rounds but has looked dreary at times in going 1-for-6 against the Penguins.

An incredible load was shifted to defenseman Braydon Coburn for this series; one puck to the face later (video), and a unit that had played so well in front of goaltender Marty Biron during the playoffs has been thrown into chaos. Mike Sielski of PhillyBurbs.com tells it like it is:

Their two best defensemen are down. Kimmo Timonen is definitely out for the rest of this series, and with reportedly more than 40 stitches jutting near his left eye, Coburn might be, too, and down two games to none, the Flyers stand at the bottom of a hill that seems too steep to climb.

No Timonen? No Coburn? Sorry, no chance.

Sielski goes on to write that if "Coburn is out for Games 3 and 4 back in Philadelphia, the damage to the Flyers' quest for the Stanley Cup can't be undone." It's hard to argue that point. What is up for debate is whether Coburn should be the latest poster boy for those who advocate mandatory visors for NHL players. Columnist Steve Simmons of Sun Media called Coburn's injury "another sad and shining example of a hockey player who doesn't wear a visor."

The issue of mandatory visors is a decidedly new school vs. old school argument. Stan Fischler, who is practically Jurassic school, believes mandating visors is "thoroughly ridiculous," using that wonderful "it's a free country" argument that keeps so many Americans defiantly driving without seat belts in 2008. But people like former Phoenix Coyotes GM Mike Barnett have been arguing since 2002 that visors are necessary to protect against irreparable damage to players' vision. His contention, shared by players like defenseman Sean O'Donnell, is that the League should grandfather in a visor rule, respecting the rights of veteran players to continue to play without them.

It's a delicate debate about what many believe is an undeniable right for players and what others believe is a basic issue of safety. Last night, arena workers were able to quickly scrape away the blood from the ice with shovels. For critics of the NHL's refusal to mandate visors, it's a lot harder for the League to wash the blood off of its hands.