Late Lyubimov goal carries Flyers past Leafs
PHILADELPHIA -- Roman Lyubimov snapped a 13-game goalless streak, as well as a third-period tie, scoring with 2:37 remaining in regulation to give the Philadelphia Flyers a 2-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
Lyubimov got knocked down in the left circle, but he got up in enough time to fire his own rebound under the right armpit of Maple Leafs goaltender Curtis McElhinney.
Wayne Simmonds also scored for the Flyers, and goaltender Michal Neuvirth, starting in place of Steve Mason on the second end of back-to-back games, stopped 27 shots to improve to 6-4-0.
McElhinney (3-2-2) made 32 saves in the loss for the Leafs, who received their lone goal from William Nylander. The result snapped an 11-game road point streak for the Leafs, who were 9-0-2 in their previous 11 away games.
The Flyers (25-19-6) won a third game in a row for the first time since their 10-game win streak in mid-December.
Connor Brown nearly gave the Maple Leafs their first lead of the game with about seven minutes remaining in the third period when his shot was deflected off the post behind Neuvirth.
Thanks to killing off nearly six minutes in penalties and a spectacular move by Simmonds, the Flyers entered the second period with a 1-0 lead.
The Flyers had just killed off defenseman Ivan Provorov's double minor for high sticking when Toronto defenseman Matt Hunwick fanned on a backhand keep-in attempt at the offensive blue line.
That allowed Simmonds to win a footrace to the puck and accelerate in on McElhinney, beating him with a toe drag and a snap shot. The goal was the 21st of the season for Simmonds, who didn't score his 21st goal last season until Feb. 16.
Both teams traded chances early in the second period, with McElhinney snaring a scoring chance away from Jakub Voracek and Flyers defenseman Mark Streit blocking a scoring opportunity by Leafs defenseman Nikita Zaitsev.
The Maple Leafs (23-15-9) tied it with 4:25 remaining in the second period when Nylander fought through traffic to score his 10th goal of the season on his own rebound. Nylander took a slick centering pass from Nazem Kadri and snapped a shot on Neuvirth. The puck lay precariously in the crease, and Nylander knifed between Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere and forward Nick Cousins to net his first goal in seven games.
NOTES: The Flyers return from the All-Star break on Tuesday night when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes. After that, they open February with five straight home games. The Maple Leafs are also off until Tuesday when they continue a stretch of six straight games on the road, beginning at Dallas. ... At 19, C Auston Matthews will be the youngest Maple Leaf to appear in an NHL All-Star Game since Wendel Clark in 1985-86. ... RW Wayne Simmonds will represent the Flyers in Los Angeles. It will mark his first All-Star Game in the city where he began his NHL career as a second-round draft pick of the Kings. ... Despite posting shutouts on Wednesday night, Flyers G Steve Mason and Leafs G Frederik Andersen were rested in the final game before the break. .... D Frank Corrado, LW Josh Leivo and injured D Morgan Rielly were scratched for Toronto. D Michael Del Zotto (lower body), D Nick Schultz and RW Dale Weise were scratched for Philadelphia.