Flyers' Coburn could be out for a while

FOG WAS billowing out of the Zamboni entrance, with the Wells Fargo Center's new lighting system on display, as each Flyer skated out to a raucous introduction.

Through all the pomp and circumstance of the home opener, the Flyers' longest-tenured player was conspicuously absent.

Braydon Coburn, wearing a suit, was standing at the edge of the bench gripping crutches.

Coburn, 29, sat out what would have been his eighth home opener with the team with an undisclosed "lower-body injury." He apparently suffered the injury in the Flyers' 2-1 loss Wednesday night in Boston, despite playing 20:02.

"I believe this is going to take some time," general manager Ron Hextall said. "He's not going to be 'day-to-day.' He's going to be re-evaluated tonight and in the next few days. I don't have a prognosis or diagnosis."

Hextall refused to reveal the nature of Coburn's apparently serious injury, instead opting to say that "consistency is a good policy" when it comes to disclosing injuries. In the past, GM Paul Holmgren would reveal the nature of an injury only if a player was going to miss an extended period of time.

Suddenly, the Flyers are without both of the defensemen - Kimmo Timonen (blood clots) and Coburn - who made up arguably their best pairing last season. They were also two of their biggest minute loggers. And it's only two games into the regular season.

Defenseman Nick Schultz took Coburn's place in the lineup and made his Flyers debut against the Devils. Schultz, 32, is a veteran of 882 career NHL games. He signed over the summer to be the Flyers' spare defenseman with a 1-year, $1.25 million deal.

"I probably don't feel as good about [our defense] as I did [Wednesday night]," Hextall said. "When you lose a player, you lose a player. That's why we signed Nick Schultz. He's a capable player. He's got to step in and he can give us good minutes."

Coburn's injury will be the first test of Hextall's policy to let his young prospects on the blue line, particularly Shayne Gostisbehere, develop in the AHL. Hextall responded by saying he would look at "every option that's out there" once he has an official diagnosis on Coburn, but added that he "wouldn't have a problem calling up one of the guys that's been there for a year or 2," presumably Brandon Manning, Oliver Lauridsen or Mark Alt.

For the second training camp in a row, there was minor grumbling from the Flyers' coaching staff about the setup of the team's preseason schedule. They were one of just nine teams to play the full allowance of eight preseason games, including one split-squad matchup and two different spans of three games in 3 nights.

"The preseason schedule was a little bit hectic this year," coach Craig Berube said Wednesday. "It was tough to get lineups together with back-to-backs and things like that."

If the Flyers would like to be better prepared for the regular season, they hold the keys to their preseason schedule. Sure, building availability and travel schedules come into play. But the NHL allows each team to draw up its own exhibition schedule, which is then approved by the league. No griping allowed.

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