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Flyers left winger Roman Lyubimov (13) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the Leafs during the third period.Eric Hartline

Roman Lyubimov scored late in the third period to lift the Philadelphia Flyers to their third straight win, 2-1 over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night.

Wayne Simmonds also scored to help the Flyers steady themselves after a rough month that rattled their playoff hopes. The Flyers jumped the Maple Leafs in points (56-55) and kept one of the final slots in sight headed into the All-Star break.

William Nylander scored for the Maple Leafs in their first road loss since Nov. 30 at Calgary.

Michal Neuvirth stopped 27 shots for the Flyers and held off the extra skater in the final minute to give them a win they badly needed.

The Maple Leafs and Flyers are both flirting with the final Eastern Conference postseason spots. The Flyers seemed like a team on the rise when they won 10 straight games in December before they proved that was more a mirage than the start of a sustained playoff push.

The Flyers had won just five times since the streak ended on Dec. 17 and were coming off consecutive victories for the first time in 51/2 weeks. Steve Mason got his first shutout of the season in a 2-0 win over the New York Rangers on Wednesday night. Mason has to wait a few more days to try and make it two straight shutouts. Coach Dave Hakstol gave his No. 1 goalie an extra day of rest headed into the break and put Neuvirth in net. The move paid off and the Flyers won their third straight game for the first time since the end of the 10-game win streak.

The Maple Leafs also sat goalie Frederik Anderson a night after he stopped 22 shots in a 4-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings. Anderson went 6-2-2 in January with a .909 save percentage and 2.78 goals-against average.

With both starters on the bench after stellar outings, the Flyers and Maple Leafs took chances their backups could keep them in the thick of the playoff race.

Coach Mike Babcock is trying to lead Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs to the playoffs for just the second time since the 2003-04 season.

Simmonds began his NHL career with Los Angeles before being traded 51/2 years ago and returns there for the all-star game with a team-high 21 goals. Simmonds scored No. 21 on a breakaway midway through the first for a 1-0 lead.

Nylander made it 1-all early in the second when he scored off a rebound when the Flyers failed to clear him out of the crease.

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