In one of the less inspiring efforts from the Flyers this season the lone bright spot was that Joffery Lupul seemed to be in full form. After being out of the loop for over a month Joffery was perhaps the most productive forward on the ice Saturday although that wasn’t saying too much. The Broadway Blueshirts handed the Flyers their second straight loss in a 2-0 loss for Philly. The orange and black are now scoreless against the Rangers in the past 6+ periods and not even their league leading power play could save them today. Philadelphia was 0 for 4 on the man advantage.

It wasn’t like the Flyers we saw last year where the effort obviously wasn’t there. Today the Flyers were beaten to loose pucks, lost battles along the boards and were not quick enough to beat a very good New York defense. In the second period the Flyers flexed their muscles, engaging in three fights simultaneously. Riley Cote proved once again that he is a mediocre at best fighter as he traded punches with Colton Orr before getting decked once again. Steve Downie beat up on Fedor Tutin and Ryan Holliweg and Jim Dowd played Twister on the rink trying to escape the blood of injured linesman Pat Dapuzzo who caught Steve Downie’s skate to the nose. We’ll try and get the video when it appears on YouTube.

Missing in all the mediocrity was 34-year-old Peter Forsberg who has still not committed to playing in the NHL this season. Paul Holmgren offered Foppa a contract on Monday and despite the Flyers’ offer being the worst paying job of them all, it is still thought that Forsberg has the Flyers at the top of his short list. The Flyers expect a decision from Forsberg as soon as the end of this weekend.

Those who claim Forsberg’s presence in the lineup would obstruct the Flyers’ chemistry most certainly bit their tongues today. The lackluster effort today could have been improved greatly with the presence of a proven goal scorer and could have lifted the spirits of the team where another failed Cote fight could not. While the Flyers missed a Swede today they could have used a Fin in the lineup as well. It is unclear why head coach John Stevens continues to play former Phantom Jim Vandermeer in lieu of Lasse Kukkonen who hasn’t played with the big club in quite a while. Kukkonen’s stay at home defensive style and excellence in the area of shot blocking could have been put to good use over the last few games.

In losing today’s game the Flyers also dropped to second in the Atlantic Division to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Pens beat the LA Kings this afternoon 4-2. Evgeni Malkin scored two goals and continues to carry the load left by fallen captain Cindy…sorry Sidney Crosby. While dropping the last two games certainly doesn’t mean the end of the world for the Flyers but in such a tight division they cannot afford to let their current play continue if they want to fight for the Atlantic Division title. The Flyers and Pens will meet tomorrow afternoon in Pittsburgh. The 1 p.m. game will be carried by Comcast SportsNet.