PHILADELPHIA - The Flyers truly hoped that they could build on the momentum they had from their past two wins.

But they couldn't.

What looked like an even-paced, hard-fought game suddenly crumbled into two 3rd period goals by the Buffalo Sabres and a 6-5 loss for the Flyers Saturday afternoon at the Wachovia Center. Mike Grier provided the heartbreaking goal when he received a pass from behind the Flyers net for an in-close one-timer that killed any hope of the Flyers sustaining their short-lived win streak.

The Flyers defense attempted multiple wrap-around passes behind their own net, but the communcation broke down deep in their own zone and allowed the Sabres to claim possession of the puck. Suddenly, what looked like a sure overtime turned into a nightmare. Derek Roy found Grier in the low slot for Buffalo's 6th goal with just 4.6 seconds remaining on the clock.

The defense was also depended upon way too heavily in the 3rd, as the Flyers only mustered a single shot on goal during that period. Buffalo bombarded the net repeatedly with 14 shots of their own and got 2 goals in the final stanza.

Chris Drury scored the Sabres other 3rd period goal to draw the score even at 5 apiece. The goal at 5:06 was Drury's 20th of the season, and was 1 of two power play goals the Flyers would surrender. Flyers goalie Antero Niittymaki failed to hold his ground on the shot, and allowed Drury to find the high far corner of the net from just above the goal line.

The loss brings the Flyers to a 35-19-10 overall record, and puts them 7 points behind the Sabres for 4th place in the Eastern Conference. Buffalo know has a 5 game winning streak, and has won all 3 meetings between the two clubs this season.

The Flyers' third period failure was inexplicable...even to Flyers head coach Ken Hitchcock.

"Most of the power plays were killed off. It was a tough way to lose a hockey game, giving up a goal in the last 5 seconds when you are not in any real danger," said Hitchcock.

Philly had repeated problems getting the puck out of their own end throughout the final period, and the Sabres' assault was evident, especially to Peter Forsberg who looked dejected and visibly upset after the game.

"We let them back in the game. For a few minutes we had some breakdowns. We are not keeping the lead. We went up 5-4 and stopped playing and let them back in the game. They totally outplayed us in the 3rd period...We were not skating, we were not hitting, we weren't doing anything."

Prior to the 3rd period breakdown, the Flyers looked like they were playing right up to par with the Sabres. Within the last 5 minutes of the 2nd period, the Flyers erased a 4-3 Buffalo lead on the shoulder of Mike Richards and Simon Gagne. Richards scored the go-ahead goal with just 30.8 seconds on the clock when a rush with fellow Flyers Donald Brashear and Branko Radivojevic opened up the chance for Richards' 11th goal of the season. Richards took the pass from Radivojevic in the slot and wristed a shot over the shoulder of Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller.

Gagne got his 38th goal of the year just a few minutes earlier, and Brian Savage provided one of two Flyers shorthanded goals at the 7:51 mark of the 2nd.

Richards' goal would lead to Miller being replaced for the 3rd period by Martin Biron, and the Sabres would not surrender another goal.

Mike Knuble and Sami Kapanen opened up the scoring for the Flyers in the 1st period, and gave the Flyers a 2-0 lead. Knuble's wrister came from the right faceoff dot when he was left all alone to rip it by Miller and score his 22nd of the season. Kapanen's goal was the first of the two Flyers' shorthanded tallies.

But the lead would not hold in the 2nd, when Buffalo would explode for 4 goals and take the lead. J.P Dumont and Jochen Hecht pulled the Sabres even before Savage's goal would briefly restore the lead for Philly. Then 2 more pucks would find the Philadelphia net and give the Sabres the 4-3 lead.

The lead would last for only three and a half minutes though, as Gagne and Richards' gave the Flyers the 5-4 advantage going into the 3rd.

Penalties continue to be a problem for Philly, as they gave Buffalo 7 power play opportunities on which they cashed in twice. The most important of those 2 man-advantage goals was Drury's goal that tied the score at 5 in the 3rd.

"They have a good power play," said Gagne. "We're not the style of team that can play that sort of hockey."

That may prove to be the ultimate undoing of this Flyers club, as the playoffs quickly approach and answers are in short supply.

The Flyers will have virtually no time to recover from the buzzkill of this loss, as they will now head across the state to Pittsburgh for a showdown with the Penguins on Sunday night.