That was the condition of the Flyers yesterday as they prepared to try to get back into the Eastern Conference finals tonight in the Wachovia Center.

Defenseman Braydon Coburn, who suffered a severe laceration of his left eye that required more than 50 stitches to close Sunday night in the Flyers' 4-2 loss in Pittsburgh, will need a miracle to be ready to play in Game 3.

The Penguins lead the series, 2-0.

Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said Coburn's official availability for tonight's game is listed as "doubtful," even after Coburn was examined yesterday by Dr. Steven Goldman at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital.

"Everything checked out OK,'' Holmgren said in a statement early last night. "The only issue now is the swelling around his eye. That is the concern we have right now moving forward. Everything in and around his eye is fine. That's good news. He will still be listed as doubtful for the game [tonight]."

The loss of Coburn compounds the already difficult job of playing without defenseman Kimmo Timonen, who was lost for the rest of the season with a blood clot in his left ankle on the eve of the conference finals. Timonen and Coburn were the Flyers' best shutdown pair, and not having either available for a critical Game 3 makes the Flyers' challenge of getting back into the series that much more difficult.

Ryan Parent, the rookie defenseman acquired from Nashville in the Peter Forsberg trade last year and called up late in the season, most likely will take Coburn's spot on the bench. Parent is a smooth, fast skater who can make quick breakout passes, but he has not played since Game 1 of the opening playoff series against Washington.

Coburn was struck by a puck that was shot by Pittsburgh's Sergei Gonchar and then deflected up into his face by Evgeni Malkin early in the first period.

Coburn fell to the ice and lost a lot of blood. The cut needed extensive stitching to close. According to Holmgren, Coburn had a rough time on the flight home, was dizzy and vomiting, but Holmgren said he is not believed to have suffered a concussion.

"He had no loss of consciousness. At the time he was cognizant and aware when [Flyers trainer Jim McCrossin] got to him,'' Holmgren said before getting the results from the opthalmologist. "He did have some issues on the plane . . . but I think everybody thinks it was due to loss of blood. He lost a lot of blood from that injury."

With Coburn out, Derian Hatcher becomes the Flyers' top defenseman. Hatcher played nearly 29 minutes Sunday; yesterday he said he felt fine.

"Surprisingly I don't feel that bad,'' Hatcher said. "I thought I would be a little more sore but I don't feel that bad and we'll all do what we have to back there.

"It's tough with Kimmo being out, and if [Coburn] doesn't play it makes it that much tougher, but we'll all do what we have to do."

Hatcher has been around hockey injuries a lot in his 16-year NHL career, so it was with veteran empathy that he got a small chuckle out of Coburn's condition.

"I talked to him after the game and I was messing around with him a little bit," Hatcher said. "It seems like he's going to be alright, and that's why I'm laughing and smiling."

Hatcher and his teammates held to the belief that while they were outplayed in Game 1, they stayed with the Penguins in Game 2 and are capable of raising their level of play and not looking beyond tonight.

"Even when we lost a couple of games against Washington, we were able to do that. This is no different," said center Mike Richards. "We're down 2-0 but we know there is still a long road ahead and if we play the game that we are capable of playing I think we're going to have success.

"But it's just about narrowing it down and thinking of what we've got to do, and just focusing on Game 3." *