PHILADELPHIA - Five power play goals by the Toronto Maple Leafs set the stage for a frustrating evening for both the Flyers and their fans as Philly dropped a disappointing 5-2 decision to the Leafs Saturday night at the Wachovia Center.

The Flyers were hoping to follow up one of their best performances of the season on Friday night when they beat the Buffalo Sabres for the first time this season and looked more like the playoff contenders they should be, despite the absence of forwards Peter Forsberg and Petr Nedved. Forsberg and Nedved would miss this night as well, but the results would be a world apart.

Aggressive checking and puck pursuit gave the Leafs the edge both on the scoreboard and on the ice. The Leafs started their special teams onslaught early and often by victimizing Derian Hatcher twice to score two 1st period power play goals.

During a penalty to Flyers defenseman Eric Desjardins for tripping Tie Domi, Jeff O'Neill was able to sneak up behind Hatcher to gain position at Philly netminder Antero Niittymaki's right side before deflecting Ian White's shot in for the 1-0 edge.

Then on the Leafs' next man advantage, Hatcher missed an assignment and left rookie Alex Steen all alone in the slot to receive a centering pass from the boards by Matthew Stajan. A quick wrister by Steen that found the high right corner drew the jeers of the Philadelphia crowd as the Leafs took the 2-0 lead.

Bad turned to worse for the Flyers in the 2nd period when defenseman Denis Gauthier was handed a game misconduct for boarding Kyle Wellwood. Gauthier was also assessed a 5 minute major penalty for the infraction, and O'Neill capitalized on the opportunity. Philly almost made it through the kill, but O'Neill took advantage of a scramble in front of the Philadelphia net and put the puck past Niittymaki in the midst of the confusion for a 3-0 score.

Mats Sundin got his 23rd of the season and the Leafs 4th power play goal of the night when he whipped a quick one-time pass from Darcy Tucker through traffic and past Niittymaki. Niittymaki was effectively screened and never really had a chance at the save.

The Flyers now sit 5 points behind the New York Rangers for the Atlantic Division lead after New York defeated the Bruins in overtime earlier in the day. The Flyers also lost ground on the Buffalo Sabres who lead Philly for 4th place in the conference by 7 points. Along with trying to look ahead to the Atlantic Division lead, the Flyers will now have to also look behind them as the Devils only trail them by 4 points for 2nd place in the division.

The story behind the story of the Flyers penalty killing troubles could be read in faceoffs. Philly was 4 for 17 on defensive zone draws, and 22 for 57 on faceoffs all around. The puck possession game was dominated by Toronto largely on the fact that the Flyers couldn't get control of the puck right from the get-go.

R.J. Umberger did give the Flyers some temporary hope in the 2nd by scoring his 18th goal of the season at 15:13. Toronto goaltender Jean-Sebastien Aubin coughed up the puck behind his own net and Niko Dimitrakos got control before centering to Umberger for a one-time shot that blew past Aubin.

The Flyers did attempt to press the Leafs in the 3rd period and out shot them 14-8 in the final stanza. Jeff Carter was able to narrow the gap to 2 goals for the second time at the 12:08 mark. Carter created and finished the play as he cut through the low slot for his first shot. The rebound came right back to him behind the goal line where he threw another shot at Aubin that bounced off the unprepared goaltender and into the net.

But the Flyers attempts would fall short as the damage was already too great. Chad Kilger then added another power play insult to injury by throwing an empty net goal onto the totals while the Flyers were trying to kill a Donald Brashear penalty in the last minute, but also pulled Niittymaki to try to get some late pressure on Aubin.

NOTES: The Flyers are last in the NHL with 57 power play goals surrendered on home ice...5 games remain on the Flyers schedule, including two against the Devils and one against the Rangers...Toronto stayed on pace with the Atlanta Thrashers and 1 point behind for the 9th spot in the East...J.S. Aubin is now 5-0-2 in his 7 NHL starts this year.