It's something that hasn't been said often this season, but there was no debate this time.

From the crease on out, the Buffalo Sabres were the inferior team.

The Philadelphia Flyers halted the feel-good vibe sweeping Sabreland by delivering a

one-sided performance Friday night. They were better at every position and skated out of HSBC

Arena with a 5-2 victory.

"They executed better. They competed harder. They were the better team," Sabres coach Lindy

Ruff said. "I can't find any argument against that. They made better plays, had better

support.

"It's disappointing. ... I'm not going to try to mask it at all. It wasn't a good night for

us. It wasn't a good night for most of the team."

The loss was just the third in regulation for the 9-3-1 Sabres, who have to forget about it

in a hurry. They flew to Boston immediately following the game and face the Bruins tonight in

TD Banknorth Garden.

They certainly are hoping for a better effort in Beantown. Friday's game was not up to the

early standards the Sabres have set. Even in their previous losses to the Atlanta Thrashers

and New York Islanders, the Sabres had several fine moments to which they could cling.

Things crashed against the Flyers, who won their fifth straight over Buffalo during the

past two seasons.

"We weren't there from the beginning," Sabres defenseman Henrik Tallinder said. "It's our

building. We should come with a lot of aggressiveness, a lot of jump. But it didn't seem like

we were doing that."

The Flyers, the NHL's top-scoring team, kept the league's most active shooters silent for

long stretches. The Sabres regularly record double-digit shot totals in a period, but they did

so only during the third while trying to erase a three-goal deficit. Ray Emery was there when

they came, making 28 saves.

Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller made 32, including breakaways and odd-man chances. But

Miller, who entered the night leading the league in save percentage and was second in goals-

against average, allowed a pair of shaky goals that gave the Flyers the three-goal advantage.

James van Riemsdyk started the run, putting Philly up, 3-1, with 5:05 to go in the second

period. Miller attempted to block the winger's pass through the crease, but instead it hit the

netminder's leg and went through the wickets.

With 2:34 gone in the final period, the 18,525 in attendance groaned as Miller was beaten

again. Darroll Powe lofted a slow knuckler toward the net, and the puck wobbled under Miller's

arm when he went to glove it.

Four of the Flyers' goals came from role players and blue-liners. They had been relying on

their top two lines for the majority of their scoring, but they only contributed one.

"Their third and fourth lines were doing the job for them," Ruff said. "It just seemed like

our top two lines were struggling."

The Sabres got a power-play goal from Derek Roy in the second period and brief gasp of life

from Tyler Myers in the third. The rookie defenseman's shot was tipped into the net by Flyers

blue-liner Braydon Coburn with 9:26 to go, pulling the Sabres within two.

They got no closer, and Daniel Carcillo closed the game with an empty-net tally in the final

minute.

"We kind of shied away from the physical game a little bit," Sabres left wing Clarke

MacArthur said. "Obviously, we missed a lot of chances again."

The Sabres held the league's best power play to an 0-for-4 night, but the other stats

slanted toward Philly. The Flyers outhit Buffalo, 18-9. They won faceoffs by a 31-27 margin.

"They're a good team," Myers said, "and they were the better team."