(Photo by Kate Frese/Flyerdelphia)
By Dan Heaning, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 
The Philadelphia Flyers came into tonight's contest with the Toronto Maple Leafs looking for their first three-game win streak since their 10-game run in November and December and hoping to get some breathing room in the playoff hunt.
After getting stellar goaltending from Steve Mason in their wins over the Islanders and Rangers, Michal Neuvirth continued on with the improved play behind the pipes, making 27 saves as the Flyers defeated the Leafs, 2-1.
After two periods of the Leafs getting the better of the chances, the ice tilted in the Flyers direction in the final frame. However, Philadelphia would not be able to crack Curtis McElhinney until 2:37 when the team's fourth line would break the tie.
Applying pressure down low, Roman Lyubimov's wrister from inside the circle beat McElhinney over his arm for the game-winning tally.
The game capped off a strong performance from the often-criticized fourth line players. Aside from potting the game-winner, Lyubimov's linemates, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Chris VandeVelde, helped with a crucial kill of a double minor in the first period.
William Nylander knotted up the tilt in the second period. After making the initial save, Neuvirth couldn't control the puck and Nylander was able to punch it home for his 10th of the season.
It was an overall sloppy game with plenty of missed passes and defensive turnovers. One of the most egregious was Ivan Provorov's high sticking infraction that put the Flyers on the penalty kill for four minutes.
However, the Philadelphia penalty killers didn't allow many chances as they held the Leafs to just one shot.
Shortly after killing the penalty, Travis Konecny sent Wayne Simmonds off on a breakaway. The All-Star right winger deked McElhinney and floated a shot over the netminder's glove to give the Orange and Black a 1-0 lead in the first.
Toronto had gone 9-0-2 in their previous 11 road games prior to its trip to Philadelphia. The Leafs had not lost away from the confines of the Air Canada Centre since Oct. 30.
The Flyers now stand seven points behind the New York Rangers for the first wild card spot. Philadelphia's hold on the last wild card increases to a one-point lead over the Leafs as the league goes to the All-Star break.
The Flyers next game will be on the road on Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes at 7 p.m.
