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PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Robert Esche is the Rodney Dangerfield of goaltenders. He gets no respect but keeps the packed house happy.

Esche continued to prove he's worthy of being a No. 1 goalie in the playoffs, stopping 26 shots, including a breakaway with 3:48 remaining, to help the Philadelphia Flyers to a 2-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs .

The win gave the Flyers a two games to none lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Esche is in his first postseason as a starter, but he's allowed only 11 goals in seven games. He outdueled Martin Brodeur in a first-round win over the New Jersey Devils and has done the same to Toronto's Ed Belfour , but doesn't feel like he's proven anything.

"They are arguably the top two goalies of our time and I have the utmost respect for both of them," Esche said. "I don't look at it as me playing against them, I look at it more as playing against a team than a goalie."

The Flyers acquired Esche two years ago to back up Roman Cechmanek , then let Cechmanek go and signed veteran Jeff Hackett . Shortly after Hackett came down with vertigo in January, the Flyers got Sean Burke for the stretch run and playoffs.

Through it all, Esche - a 26-year-old from upstate New York with 30 minutes of NHL playoff experience before this year - has emerged into the team's starting goaltender.

"He really seems to be on a mission to prove to people that he can be a goalie of the future," Flyers center Jeremy Roenick said. "I think that right now, he's in a zone."

The only goal Esche gave up in Game Two was a perfect redirection by tough guy Tie Domi , which tied it at 1-1 with 6:12 left in the second period, during which Toronto held an 11-1 advantage in shots.

Flyers enforcer Donald Brashear had opened the scoring in the most physical series remaining in the NHL playoffs, whacking a rebound past Belfour with 2:03 left in the first period.

Mark Recchi drew a penalty on Robert Reichel 7:31 into the third and the Flyers took advantage, taking the lead on a power-play goal by Alexei Zhamnov .

Zhamnov skated to the net from the right corner and slipped the puck through the pads of Belfour, who seemed to be leaning to his right, expecting a pass.

"I saw that he started to move to the far post, I saw the five-hole and I put it in the back of the net," Zhamnov said. "It's exciting to get that goal, especially on the power play."

Zhamnov, a deadline-deal acquisition, leads the team in playoff scoring with four goals and six assists.

Philadelphia scored both of its goals with the man advantage while killing all four of Toronto's power plays.

"Their power play was the difference tonight," said Leafs captain Mats Sundin , who missed the previous four games with a sprained ankle. "We have to be better on our power play."

The Leafs also have to win some home games. They have dropped the first two games of a series for the first time since the 1993 Western Conference semifinals against the Detroit Red Wings .

"In both of these games, we had really good efforts," Sundin said. "Now we have to come out with the same intensity and determination that we had in this game and do it at home."

It should be a rowdy home. At least, that's what Roenick expects.

"You're against a country now," the Boston native said. "You're against a country that doesn't care for Americans and they are going to let us know it."

One of those Americans is Esche, who held the fort after Zhamnov scored the go-ahead goal. His best save came when Sundin sprung Clarke Wilm for a breakaway with 3:48 to play. Esche made a pad save on Wilm, who isn't known for his offense.

"I got fortunate," Esche said.

However fortunate, he had the crowd of 19,792 on its feet at the Wachovia Center.

"He's not only giving us a lot of excitement on the bench, but he's giving everybody in the building a lot of confidence and excitement," Roenick said. "He's been the reason for our success so far."