It's hard to say which is more astounding:

The fact the Flyers looked so dominant for long stretches against the Penguins in winning Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals Thursday night, or the fact that Flyers defensemen Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn might be back in the lineup Sunday when the series resumes with Game 5 on Sunday in Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena.

Timonen, thought to be sidelined the remainder of the playoffs with a blood clot in his left foot, was examined Thursday by Ronald Fairman, chief vascular surgeon at Pennsylvania Hospital, and an ultrasound showed that his blood clot had remained unchanged.

"Based on that, the doctor said I have a green light to give it a try," Timonen said. "That's what I'm going to do. I'm going to skate (Friday) and see how it feels. The doctor feels that there is no chance the clot is going to get loose or break up or anything like that. It's a great sign. A week ago, they were afraid it was going to get bigger and cut loose. I've been on blood thinners now for eight days and we'll see how it goes."

Timonen said the decision over whether to return or not now rests with him.

"If I feel (Friday) that I'm good to go for Sunday, then I'm good for Sunday," he said. "There is nothing to prevent me from playing. I may have numbness in my toes, but if I can deal with that, then I can play. We'll see how it goes (Friday). I just want to make sure I can help the team and not hurt them."

Timonen said he is not feeling the numbness in his toes that he felt after blocking a shot in Game 4 against the Montreal Canadiens two weeks ago. Last week, Timonen was told that if he continued playing he might have been forced to lose his toes.

Meanwhile, Coburn is also hoping an extra two days off will allow the swelling in his left eye to subside and make him available for Game 5 in Pittsburgh.

FLYERS 4, PENGUINS 2: Maybe the equipment managers from the Penguins and Flyers pulled a switcheroo before the game.

Maybe Penguins coach Michel Therrien stepped into the Flyers' dressing room before the game and offered a few pointers.

How else can you explain why the Flyers looked so much like the Penguins and the Penguins looked so much like the Flyers Thursday night?

The Flyers looked every bit as dominant in staving off elimination as the Penguins looked in building a three-games-to-none series lead. Two goals by Joffrey Lupul and one each by Daniel Briere and Jeff Carter proved to be the difference as the Flyers held off a late rally by the Penguins in the third period.

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