Coburn needed more than 50 stitches to close a gash around his left eye and near his nose after Evgeni Malkin deflected a shot from Sergei Gonchar under his face shield just 1 minute, 41 seconds into the opening period.

"Right now, the swelling needs to go down more before he can play," general manager Paul Holmgren said. "He can breathe, but the swelling is bad."

The Flyers are considering a full facial shield for Coburn.

"It's pretty bad when you see him," Scott Hartnell said. "He is cut up pretty bad. Hopefully, he can come back this next game."

"Well, obviously it's tough," said coach John Stevens, who added that Coburn "is an all-situation player for us. He plays big minutes, but I thought the group of five [remaining defensemen] did a heck of a job. I thought they played big minutes. I thought we got big contributions from all of them."

A Downie backer

"I think Steve stepped in really well in Game 7 in Washington," Richards said. "He brings a physical presence. He's actually a skilled player. But, I mean, he just has that presence on the ice where everyone has to know where he is, because he does have that physical side of him."

Richards was asked about the Flyers' problems on the breakout in Game 1, when the forwards and defense were too far apart, allowing the Penguins to attack the puck carrier in numbers.

"Well, I think we have to support each other better," he said. "We couldn't get in on the forecheck because every time we dumped the puck, there was one guy going in, two guys [on the] opposite side of the ice. The defense was kind of staggered back. And we really didn't look like a team that's played together all year."

Slow starts

"We started every series on the road," Stevens said. "We have been in every game that we have played. But unfortunately, we've dropped the first game again. But we told our team [Saturday], we lost the first game in Montreal, we played well, lost in overtime.

"It is just one game. We have got to leave it behind. Got to move on, try and do some things to get better. It's just part of the series. Those momentum swings that we talk about, whether you win or lose, you've got to take from that game what it gives. You've got to move on."

Malkin's impact

"He's getting used to the [defensive] attention," said Crosby, who scored the first goal of Game 2. "Guys aren't going to let him freewheel out there. But I think he's just using his size. He's a guy that likes to compete. It's not like he's afraid to go into traffic areas, so I don't think that's something he shies away from. He makes sure he's ready for it, but at the same time, he doesn't let it affect the way he plays. He sometimes uses his size to his advantage."

Loose pucks

- Tim Panaccio