That faint beeping noise you hear is the sound of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms playoff chances on life support. Nobody's ready to pull the plug on this one, so the patient will either live or die, but suffice it to say, there was another setback on Sunday.

With the Phantoms winless in their last six games, they had a chance to open their eyes and let everybody know they were fighting to live. Instead, they lost to Portland - a team that came in winless in eight straight games - 4-2 on their home ice to open a four-game homestand.As has happened at other key points in the season, a phone call from the Flyers added to the difficult task ahead of the Phantoms. An injury to Michal Neuvirth necessitated the recall of top goalie Anthony Stolarz to Philadelphia and another ride on Route 222 for Martin Ouellette, who was again recalled from Reading. Jason LaBarbera, who had played in just one game over the previous five weeks, was in goal Sunday and allowed two goals, the first on a power play, before the first period was even halfway through.Coach Scott Gordon and some of the players were quick to point out a difficult travel schedule that had them arriving from Toronto around 6 a.m. Saturday after a Friday night game north of the border. The players put in their own practice time on Saturday and were then back on the ice Sunday evening. The result was a sluggish first period for the Phantoms, who were outshot 8-4 in the first 20 minutes.Forward Tim Brent blamed another reason for the loss."We got away from what we've kind of had success doing, and that's putting pucks behind defensemen and putting pressure on them, getting a good forecheck going. We turned pucks over, we were soft in battles and kind of lost all of them," pointed out Brent.Portland added a third goal against LaBarbera just over one minute into the second period to take a commanding 3-0 lead. The veteran goalie admitted to feeling a little rusty early, but wasn't making any excuses for the loss."I felt better as the game went on. It's not easy when your team is already struggling and then you dig yourselves a 3-0 hole that early into the game," said LaBarbera.Adam Comrie cut the lead to 3-1 later in the second period and Chris Conner put the Phantoms on the comeback trail with a goal at 18:33 of the third, making it 3-2. With LaBarbera pulled, Portland's Wayne Simpson scored an empty netter with just over a minute to play for his second goal of the game and a 4-2 Portland advantage.With 11 games left on the regular-season schedule, the Phantoms are 10 points out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, with five teams between them and the final spot. Without a quick and dramatic turnaround, the faint beeping will soon become a long, constant, high-pitched beep signaling the end of the Phantoms hopes.PHANTOM FACTS: Danick Martel is tied for third among AHL rookies for goals scored with 21, while rookie Frank Vatrano of Providence leads not just rookies, but all of the AHL with 33 goals. Martel is second in rookies in game-winning goals with four, behind Max Gortz of Milwaukee, who has five ... Chris Conner has picked up at least one point in 20 of his last 24 games, notching nine goals and 19 assists for 28 points ... First-year defenseman Samuel Morin is the only Phantoms player to play in all 62 games this season ... The Toronto Marlies are the only AHL team to have officially clinched a playoff spot. Lehigh Valley skated to an overtime loss to Toronto last Friday night ... A crowd of 8,422 was in attendance Sunday, giving Lehigh Valley their eighth straight sellout and 19 on the season.