The Flyers will once again have to do without star center Danny Briere, this time for 4-5 weeks, after the Canadian picked up a groin strain in Tuesday's home win over the Lightning.
Briere had only just returned to the lineup, having missed 14 of the previous 16 games with different injuries, all of which are believed to have stemmed from the abdominal injury that required surgery earlier in the year.
Doctors believe that this new injury is also related, but don't know why it happened in a game but not in training - maybe because nothing, even full training, comes close to the intensity of a proper NHL game.
GM Paul Holmgren has confirmed that the injury is more serious than was thought at the time, and that it had been niggling at Briere for some time.
Briere has played well when healthy this season, picking up nine points in as many games.
But this new injury means he is set to miss between 13 and 17 games, unless he rehabs ahead of schedule.
So far this season, Jeff Carter and Mike Richards have done a good job picking up the slack left by Briere's various absences.
Carter has 25 points in 24 games including an NHL leading 18 goals, whilst captain Richards has 26 points in the same span.
As always Simon Gagne is also pulling his weight, leading the team in points (31) and assists (18).
However in the long term, very few can make up for a guy who was the driving force behind Philly's resurrection and playoff run last season with 72 points, and who scored a massive 95 points for the Sabres in 2006/7:
But the Flyers will have to try, starting tonight against the Devils.
Kobe Bryant almost singlehandedly took the Lakers to last year's NBA Finals, so it was little surprise that last night, his performance alone was enough to carry the Lakers past the Sixers.
Bryant, who was born and raised in Philadelphia, always seems to do well on his homecoming trips and last night was no exception, as the star notched up a game high 32 points.
The Lakers came into the game on the back of only their second loss this season: a last second affair in Indiana, so this would have been the proverbial time to "catch them when they're down".
What was actually seen however, was a Lakers team with very short memories, determined to make up for that loss and start a new streak afresh, and the Sixers never really got close to making it back-to-back losses for the 'Best in the West'.
The Sixers came within six in the third and eight late in the fourth, but every time they tried to rally, Bryant came up with a big shot to remove the pressure.
Andre Miller backed up his big game in Chicago with a 26 point haul, whilst Iguodala (19), Thaddeus Young (17), Louis Williams (15) and Samuel Dalembert (11) all made double digits in support, as Philly topped 100 points inside four quarters for the first time in nine games.
Here are the highlights:
However, even shooting 48.8% from the floor (a high percentage by their standards) wasn't enough for the 76ers, as LA shot almost 60% and nearly 50% from beyond the arc.
The Sixers rank 25th in the league in 3 point percentage, as no-one seems to be able to knock them down consistently.
Louis Williams came off the bench last night and went 3-5 from distance, but his average is less than 25% on the year.
Since trading Kyle Korver to the Jazz a year ago, Philly have not been the same from the perimeter, and this is affecting their offensive efficiency, which ranks 26th in the NBA.
Failure to knock in 3 pointers means that the Sixers can't spread a team out defensively, and they have to try and get all their points inside - over half of their points against the Lakers were scored in the paint (54).
Bryant on the other hand, gave a masterclass on shooting in general, and his team backed him up from the perimeter.
Here are some extended Lakers highlights which, even as a Philly fan, you can't help but sit back and admire.
Watch out for Paul Gasol's double-double (22 points, 13 rebounds) and center Andrew Bynum (7-11 for 18 points):
The worst news of the night was that Elton Brand had to leave the game late in the third with a hamstring strain.Brand had been poor during his time on the court, going just 1-7 before coming out of the game for good.
This was probably down to the injury as Cheeks claims that Brand only told him about it when he left the game, but he said it had been niggling him for a while.
The forward is listed as day-to-day but he will definitely miss the team's trip to Detroit on Friday night, which is a big blow as Brand leads the Sixers in points and rebounds per game.
The last thing the 76ers need is a long term injury to their new star, who they will need if they are going to get their season back on track.
Philly signed Brand to a massive $80 million contract to try and solve what was widely acknowledged as their biggest weakness: halfcourt offense.
But despite all the good work he has done, Brand's production is still down on his last season with the Clippers, and this is obviously due to the Sixers' lack of a serious outside threat, to open up spaces for him.
Korver would have been ideal for the job, as he is still hitting nearly 50% of his 3 pointers out in Utah, but ironically it was his departure that freed up the cash with which Philly were able to sign Brand.
In signing Brand, the Sixers now have very little money to go out and sign the seemingly missing piece of their offensive jigsaw: a true shooter.
So far no-one within the organisation has stepped up and taken the 'Korver role', raising questions on whether there will be some form of roster move to try and bring in a new threat.
These questions however will have to wait for another day, as the Sixers now look to try and set themselves off in the right direction once more, starting Friday in the Motor City.
Even without Brand Philly have plenty of talent, but that talent has yet to gel offensively this year in the same way as it did at the end of last season, when the team put on a spurt to make the playoffs.
Minus Brand, the lineup heading to Detroit has a very similar backbone to that which made the postseason and in the very same city, won Game One of that series.
Now as it was then, Miller and Iguodala are set to try and lead by example, against a team renouned for playing defense first and offense second.
It is going to be tough, but with the added spice of facing long-time Philly hero Allen Iverson, the Sixers should at least be fired up.
Center and captain Mike Richards may have won the game for the Flyers last night, two minutes into overtime, but his teammate Scott Hartnell could have cost them the game in regulation, with one of the most extraordinary penalties you are ever likely to see.
With 16 seconds left in the third period, Lightning winger Ryan Malone broke away from a tired Flyers unit to go one-on-one with goaltender Martin Biron when, in an act of desperation, Hartnell threw his glove in front of Malone to try and put him off.
Malone's shot, which if scored would have won the game, was saved by Biron, but the referees correctly called a foul on Hartnell, giving the Lightning a penalty shot and with it, another chance to clinch the win.
Thankfully for the winger, Biron again produced a stunning save to send the game to overtime.
Here it is...I have never seen anything like it:
Some would say it was a great heads-up play as no-one was going to catch Malone, especially with Biron having saved 6/10 regulation penalty shots already this season.
Others would call it a moment of madness, that gave the visitors two chances to steal the win.
Richards took advantage of Philly's good fortune, scoring his second goal of the night early in the extra period to get the Flyers back on track, after two losses in two days at the back end of last week.
Ironically it was Malone that gave the Flyers the power play from which they scored the winner, after he was called for interference on Biron.
The Flyers had led the game 3-1 early in the third period, before allowing Tampa Bay to come back and level the scores with less than five minutes remaining.
It was a feast of a game for the Flyers' centers as they scored all 4 goals, with Jeff Carter's power play goal giving Philly the lead with less than three minutes on the clock.
After Tampa pegged the Flyer's back midway through the first, Philly regained their advantage just seconds into the third with Richards' first goal of the night.
Despite being a man short, the Flyers created a two-on-one break which the Canadian duly converted.
Carter doubled Philly's lead just four minutes later, grabbing his second of the night on another Flyers power play.
The goal was Carter's 18th of the season, which ties him with Buffalo's Thomas Vanek for the league's leading goal scorer.
The center was also credited with an assist for Richards' game winner, giving him three points on the night and 25 on the season.
However, it was not such a good night for the Flyers' other main center Danny Briere, as he left the game after the second with yet another injury.
By this point winger Scottie Upshall had already left the game in the opening period, but he was ejected in the first period after getting a game misconduct call for a boarding penalty.
The result avenged Philly's 2-1 loss to the Lightning back in November, when two former Flyers came back to haunt their former team.
The same nearly happened again last night, with four ex-Flyers combining to have a part in all three Tampa goals.
Ex-Philly winger Mark Recchi brought the Lightning level at 1-1 in the first, with another former Flyer Vaclav Prospal getting an assist on the play.
Prospal then scored Tampa's second, just seconds after Philly had gone 3-1 up.
The center was assisted by Steve Eminger, who the Flyers traded to the Lightning less than a month ago for defenseman Matt Carle.
Another player leaving Philadelphia in the Carle trade was winger Steve Downie, and it was he who knotted the scores late in the third before all the last gasp drama.
With the win the Flyers move up to 12-7-5 on the year and 6th in the Eastern Conference, just two points behind division rivals Pittsburgh, who lie second in the Atlantic Division.
Meanwhile the Lightning have now lost five straight games and slipped to second bottom in the East, a position the Flyers found themselves in not too long ago.
That time appears to be way in the past for Philly, who are now one of the hottest teams in the conference, having gone 7-1-2 in their last 10 games.
General Manager Paul Holmgren will be hoping his team can continue this form and build on it Thursday, when the New Jersey Devils visit the Wachovia Center.
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It is pass interference by either team when any player movement beyond the line of scrimmage significantly hinders the progress of an eligible player or such player’s opportunity to catch the ball.
Offensive pass interference rules apply from the time the ball is snapped until the ball is touched. Defensive pass interference rules apply from the time the ball is thrown until the ball is touched.
Actions that constitute defensive pass interference include but are not limited to: (a) Contact by a defender who is not playing the ball and such contact restricts the receiver’s opportunity to make the catch. (b) Playing through the back of a receiver in an attempt to make a play on the ball. (c) Grabbing a receiver’s arm(s) in such a manner that restricts his opportunity to catch a pass. (d) Extending an arm across the body of a receiver thus restricting his ability to catch a pass, regardless of whether the defender is playing the ball. (e) Cutting off the path of a receiver by making contact with him without playing the ball. (f) Hooking a receiver in an attempt to get to the ball in such a manner that it causes the receiver’s body to turn prior to the ball arriving.
Actions that do not constitute pass interference include but are not limited to: (a) Incidental contact by a defender’s hands, arms, or body when both players are competing for the ball, or neither player is looking for the ball. If there is any question whether contact is incidental, the ruling shall be no interference. (b) Inadvertent tangling of feet when both players are playing the ball or neither player is playing the ball. (c) Contact that would normally be considered pass interference, but the pass is clearly uncatchable by the involved players. (d) Laying a hand on a receiver that does not restrict the receiver in an attempt to make a play on the ball. (e) Contact by a defender who has gained position on a receiver in an attempt to catch the ball.
Actions that constitute offensive pass interference include but are not limited to: (a) Blocking downfield by an offensive player prior to the ball being touched. (b) Initiating contact with a defender by shoving or pushing off thus creating a separation in an attempt to catch a pass. (c) Driving through a defender who has established a position on the field.
Actions that do not constitute offensive pass interference include but are not limited to: (a) Incidental contact by a receiver’s hands, arms, or body when both players are competing for the ball or neither player is looking for the ball. (b) Inadvertent touching of feet when both players are playing the ball or neither player is playing the ball. (c) Contact that would normally be considered pass interference, but the ball is clearly uncatchable by involved players.
Note 1: If there is any question whether player contact is incidental, the ruling should be no interference.
Note 2: Defensive players have as much right to the path of the ball as eligible offensive players.
Note 3: Pass interference for both teams ends when the pass is touched.
Note 4: There can be no pass interference at or behind the line of scrimmage, but defensive actions such as tackling a receiver can still result in a 5-yard penalty for defensive holding, if accepted.
Note 5: Whenever a team presents an apparent punting formation, defensive pass interference is not to be called for action on the end man on the line of scrimmage, or an eligible receiver behind the line of scrimmage who is aligned or in motion more than one yard outside the end man on the line. Defensive holding, such as tackling a receiver, still can be called and result in a 5-yard penalty and automatic first down from the previous spot, if accepted. Offensive pass interference rules still apply.
TAKEN FROM NFL RULEBOOK
Where will the Eagles finish this season?
Who is will be the Sixers MVP this season?
Who will be the Flyers top points scorer this season?
How close will the Phillies come to retaining their title next season?
Briere had only just returned to the lineup, having missed 14 of the previous 16 games with different injuries, all of which are believed to have stemmed from the abdominal injury that required surgery earlier in the year.
