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Flyers end home misery, rally past Leafs, 4-2

The Flyers, coming off a three-game sweep in Western Canada, ended a six-game losing streak at the Wells Fargo Center.

Sean Couturier, left, and Radko Gudas of the Flyers celebrate with Claude Giroux after his goal against the Maple Leafs during the first period.
Sean Couturier, left, and Radko Gudas of the Flyers celebrate with Claude Giroux after his goal against the Maple Leafs during the first period.Read moreCHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer

For the first time in more than a month, the Flyers could crank up the music in their locker room after a home win Tuesday night.

Sean Couturier scored with 2 minutes, 55 seconds left as the Flyers rallied past the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-2, at the Wells Fargo Center and extended their winning streak to a season-high four games.

[Box score, three stars]

But it was their first home win since a 3-1 over Chicago on Nov. 9. The Flyers had lost six straight at the Wells Fargo Center before Tuesday.

Couturier took a slick pass from Claude Giroux and fired a perfectly placed shot past Frederik Andersen (35 saves)  and into the right corner of the net to snap a 2-2 tie. It was his 15th goal, equaling his career high — and the Flyers have only played 30 games.

"He's been playing great hockey and it's fun to be on his line," said Giroux, who had a goal and an assist and downplayed his setup — a pass that went through a defender's legs — on the game-winner. "That was all Coots; that was a good shot."

Couturier admitted he wasn't trying to pick a corner with his blast.

"The puck was rolling, so I just shot as hard as I could," he said with a smile.

Scott Laughton's empty-net goal iced the win with 15.6 seconds to go, giving the Flyers four consecutive regulation victories for the first time since Feb. 1-8, 2014.

The Leafs played without star center Auston Matthews, who is sidelined with a suspected concussion.

The Flyers tied the score at 2-2 on Travis Konecny's second goal in the last 20 games. Konecny's shot appeared to deflect off two Maple Leafs (Dominic Moore and Roman Polak) as Taylor Leier battled in front. The line of Laughton, Konecny, and Leier gave Toronto problems with its speed.

Earlier in the period, Andersen made quality stops on Giroux (twice) and Val Filppula from in close. The Flyers had an 18-9 shots advantage over the final 20 minutes, when they outscored Toronto, 3-0.

During their 10-game losing streak, the Flyers were outscored after the second period, 14-2. In their last four games, all wins, they have outscored their opponents, 7-1, after the second period.

"We've taken advantage of a break or two, but I think most importantly, guys have just kept their foot on the gas and found ways to win games," said coach Dave Hakstol, whose team's winning streak started when he tweaked all four lines and went with a 1-2-2 forecheck.

About two minutes after the Flyers scored the third-period equalizer, Brian Elliott robbed Connor Brown from point-blank range to keep the game tied.

Former Flyer James van Riemsdyk deflected Morgan Rielly's shot past Elliott while the Maple Leafs were on a power play, putting Toronto ahead, 2-1, with 3:10 remaining in the second. It was van Riemsdyk's 15th goal (sixth on the power play), tops on the Leafs.

Elliott, who was brilliant in the Flyers' three wins on their recent Western Canada trip, allowed a soft goal to veteran center Patrick Marleau, enabling the Maple Leafs to tie the game at 1-all with 10:12 left in the first.

Marleau's left-circle drive bounced off Elliott and went under his right armpit and caromed into the net. It was the 1,100th career point for the 38-year-old Marleau, who is in his first season with Toronto.

Marleau scored just 27 seconds after Giroux had given the Flyers a 1-0 lead on his 13th goal, one shy of his total in the entire 2016-17 season.

After a faceoff win by Couturier, who won seven of nine (78 percent) draws, Giroux fired a one-timer from the top of the right circle past Andersen.

"Having him on the right side there, G is ready for a one-timer if I win it," Couturier said, "and lucky enough the puck ended up right on his tape."

The Flyers, who registered a 4-2 victory in Toronto on Oct. 28, finished with a 39-22 edge in shots.

All four games in their winning streak have come against Canadian teams for the first time in franchise history.