Lyubimov sends Flyers past Maple Leafs, 2-1, on late goal

PHILADELPHIA – With the scored tied up at one all, Roman Lyubimov scored for the Flyers to give Philadelphia a 2-1 win over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs.

The goal came with less than three minutes left in regulation.

“Just a great, hardworking goal,” Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. “Those guys got in on the forecheck, they won a couple puck battles down there, did everything the right way. He had the rebound come back to him and found a way to bury it.”

Michal Neuvirth made 27 saves to help the Flyers grab their third straight win ahead of the All-Star break.

Wayne Simmonds also scored for the Flyers who improved to 25-19-6 and have found some consistency over the last three games to erase the string of losses after their long winning streak was snapped.

“I think anytime you get a chance to stop the other team from scoring goals, you’ve got to take great pride in it,” Simmonds said. “It’s my first year killing penalties in Philadelphia, and I don’t want to get taken off. It’s something that I pride myself in along with every single other guy on the team.”

Curtis McElhinney got the start for Toronto and made 32 saves in the loss.

The Leafs fell back to 25-15-9 on the season.

“In the end it’s disappointing because you’re two minutes away from getting a point,” Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said. “But in saying that, the better team, I think, when the game was on the line, won. We have to find a way on back-to-back nights. We didn’t have enough guys good enough, long enough.”