The Philadelphia Flyers extended their season-best winning streak to four games with a 5-3 win in Toronto last night. It was a fine way for a Flyers club that has struggled on the road all season to start a three-game road trip.

With 11 games remaining in the lockout-shortened 48-game regular season, the Flyers are two points behind the New York Rangers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Blueshirts hold one game in hand.

Last night in Toronto, Sean Couturier continued his recent run of strong play. The second-year center, who endured a major slump and a loss of offensive confidence, had two primary assists on crucial goals. First, he made a brilliant setup pass to Jakub Voracek. Later, he blasted a shot from high in the zone that deflected into the net off new acquisition Jay Rosehill's leg.

Simon Gagne, Voracek, Rosehill, Brayden Schenn and Luke Schenn (empty net) scored for the Flyers. The last time two brothers scored in the same game for the Flyers was on Dec. 28, 1985, when twin brothers Rich and Ron Sutter tallied goals in a 6-5 win over the Calgary Flames.

Gagne opened the scoring just 1:19 into the first period. On an offensive zone right circle faceoff, Ruslan Fedotenko poked the puck forward and then retrieved it down low after defenseman Mike Kostka overskated the puck. Fedotenko sent the puck out to Erik Gustafsson at the right point. Gustafsson wound up and fired a shot that Gagne deflected past James Reimer from in front of the net.

The lead lasted last than two minutes. A harmless looking rush for Toronto turned dangerous when Bruno Gervais overplayed the rush on partner Kimmo Timonen's side of the ice and then turned the puck over under pressure behind the net. The coverage never got reset. Ilya Bryzgalov was guilty of an overplay of his own, taking him out of position to make a second save after stopping an initial shot by former Flyers winger Joffrey Lupul. The rebound went directly to an open Nikolai Kulemin, who potted it into a mostly vacant net.

Midway through the period, Rosehill dropped the gloves for the first time as a Flyer, taking on Colton Orr. The Flyers received a power play as Orr got an extra roughing minor for going after Wayne Simmonds. Philly was unable to capitalize.

With 3:14 left in the first period, Toronto took a short-lived 2-1 lead. John-Michael Liles ripped a left circle shot past Bryzgalov through a screen in front. After the puck went in the net, Bryzgalov briefly extended his arms and shrugged his shoulders in a gesture of letting his teammates know he was unable to see the shot.

The Flyers re-tied the game with 1:25 left in the first period. Matt Read made a lead pass to Couturier on the line rush, and Couturier skated hard up the left side, gaining a half step on Dion Phaneuf. Couturier then threaded a pass between Carl Gunarsson's legs and right onto the tape of a wide-open Voracek near the right post. With Reimer caught on the other side of the net, Voracek tucked the puck home for his team-leading 16th goal.

Brayden Schenn, who has points in three of the last four games, broke free from a 16-game goal drought in the opening minute of the second period. In the process, he gave the Flyers a 3-2 lead. A shaky-looking Reimer awkwardly knocked away a side-angle shot and the Leafs gained possession behind the net, attempting to break out up the attack-side left wing. Instead, Kulemin turned the puck over to Schenn.

Schenn wristed a shot at the net from the deep slot. Perhaps distracted by Scott Hartnell going to the net, Reimer misplayed the shot, which leaked in past him at the 54-second mark.

The Flyers built a 4-2 lead in the latter part of the middle stanza. Couturier wound up and fired a shot as Rosehill tried to set up a screen. The puck re-directed into the net off Rosehill's leg. This was yet another case of a team making its own good luck -- the Flyers have had several bounces go their way in the last few games, and it's because they've been getting pucks at the net and traffic moving in front.

The third period wasn't exactly a textbook one for the Flyers. It became obvious they were tiring from playing back-to-back games while Toronto was the rested club. Philly took a lot of icings and generally went into hang-in mode while being outshot 10-3 for the first 19-plus minutes of the period (Luke Schenn's long-distance empty netter in the waning seconds was the Flyers' fourth shot of the third period).

James van Riemsdyk scored for the first time in 11 games to bring the Leafs back within a goal at the 6:14 mark of the third period. On the play, Couturier lost his stick in a one-on-one battle along the boards with a pinching Phaneuf. As Couturier retrieved his stick, Phaneuf peeled free and sent the puck to JVR near the goal line. From a tough angle, van Riemsdyk wheeled around and flipped a puck upstairs over Bryzgalov and a sprawling Kimmo Timonen.

The Flyers had several nervous moments while protecting the one-goal lead, including another near-goal for van Riemsdyk. With the clock ticking down to the final 20 seconds, Philadelphia took another icing. Randy Carlyle opted to call a timeout, which allowed him to try to design a set play off the ensuing faceoff but also gave the Flyers' checkers a much-needed respite.

Claude Giroux won the defensive zone faceoff, and Gustafsson poked the puck from the lower faceoff circle over to partner Luke Schenn. The former Maple Leafs defenseman sent the puck the length of the ice from a long stride in front of his own goal line. Fortunately for the Flyers, the puck traveled a straight trajectory, ticking softly into the empty Toronto net to seal a 5-3 win for Philadelphia.

The game was costly on the injury front for both clubs. The Leafs lost Lupul in the first period after a sandwich hit from Adam Hall and Rosehill. The Flyers saw top-pairing defenseman Timonen leave the game in the third period with a lower-body injury.

Timonen's status for Saturday's game in Winnipeg is unknown as of this writing. The Finn has an almost legendary pain threshold, and has often played in games in which he was initially listed as questionable and even doubtful. If he can possibly play, he will.

There is also a chance that Nicklas Grossmann, who has been out for nearly two weeks with an upper body injury, may be ready to return to the lineup on Saturday.

Come Saturday in Winnipeg, energy management will be crucial for the Flyers. The game will be the Flyers' third in four days -- all in different cities.

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