Kimmo Timonen after Twitter eulogy gets his momen

CHICAGO During Game 3 of the Western Conference finals, Twitter felt like a eulogy for Kimmo Timonens hockey career. It was painful to watch the Blackhawks 40-year-old defenseman; he was regularly getting beaten to pucks in space and along the boards. The Ducks were targeting him. Coach Joel Quenneville, rightly, cut his minutes to the bone le s than 17 in a triple-OT game and then scratched him starting in Game 5. MORE: | | | kimmo timonen will announce his retirement after the third overtime Jake Baskin (@baskincase) If Kimmo Timonen wants to know what it'd be like to attend his own funeral, he should check Twitter from the bench. Sean Gentille (@seangentille) Kimmo Timonen looks like he'll disintegrate if he engages anyone physically. Seth Rorabaugh (@emptynetters) Sorry to pile on, but Kimmo Timonen is dropping to 1973 Willie Mays levels kind of painful to watch. Mark Potash (@MarkPotash) Ducks credited with 24 hits in the first period. Not true that all of them targeted Kimmo Timonen. Scott Burnside (@ESPN_Burnside) Kimmo Timonen used to be such a beast. James Mirtle (@mirtle) There are many, many more. It was as if everyone, including Timonen, realized simultaneously that he hung on a few games too long. Time gets everyone, especially workhorse D-men. Timonen deserved better than that. Brian Gionta Jersey He was a great player for a long time, and his reputation as a person is somewhere north of that. On Wednesday night, hell get his shot. Timonen will play in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, likely a handful of minutes on the third pair with Trevor van Riemsdyk. Theres not many moments that Im going to get like this, Timonen said. This is my moment. Looking farther ahead, it guarantees that Timonens name will be on the Cup, should the Blackhawks win it. Naturally, he didnt want to talk much about that. It is not a time to answer that question, Timonen said. As far as I know, we havent won anything yet. Whether Timonen can be effective on any level against the Lightning is a fair question. Tampa Bay is faster than the Ducks, and the Ducks were beating him with speed (and physicality, and most other things they could beat him with, short of a broomstick). Still, watching him go out on a better note would be nice, especially given the way he fought back from a blood clot last fall. He gives us some predictability, Quenneville said. I think his coverage in the D-zone, his strength in the puck area. I think hes smart, experienced. I think he did a good job throughout the playoffs. It gives him a chance to get in here in a big moment. I think his reads and is positional awarene s and coverage in his own end will help him. Konsta Helenius Jersey