TORONTO (Ticker) -- All the bounces continue to go the Toronto Maple Leafs ' way.
Mats Sundin scored twice and Gary Roberts added two assists as the Maple Leafs evened their Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Philadelphia Flyers at two wins apiece with a 3-1 victory.
With the possibility of falling into a three games to none hole on Wednesday, the Maple Leafs benefited from three deflections to post a 4-1 triumph and get back into the series. In this one, Toronto continued to find unconventional ways to get the puck past Flyers goaltender Robert Esche .
After Philadelphia scored first for the eighth time in nine playoff games, Sundin tied it when his shot toward the front of the net deflected off defenseman Marcus Ragnarsson and between Esche's pads at 13:24 of the first period. It was Sundin's 30th playoff goal as a Maple Leaf, moving him past Ted Kennedy for third place on the club's all-time list.
"Our tying goal was a fortunate bounce," Sundin said. "Tonight, we had some good bounces go our way and we ended up coming out on top."
"They created a lot of their own luck," Esche said. "They played hard and smart, and they played well."
Sundin made it 2-1 in the second period with his second of the game and 68th postseason point with Toronto, passing Dave Keon for second in team history. The Swedish captain, who missed four games earlier in the playoffs with a "lower body" injury, nearly recorded his first career playoff hat trick with 20 seconds left in the period, but his breakaway shot rang off the crossbar.
"He keeps getting stronger," said Toronto's Brian Leetch , who extended his assists streak to six games. "In the regular season, obviously, he wouldn't be playing. He wouldn't be ready, and he keeps getting better out there."
"He's our leader. He proved it tonight," Toronto defenseman Bryan McCabe said. "He leads by example even when the puck's not going in for him. ... Tonight was a great night for him."
Darcy Tucker scored on another deflection in the third to put away the game for Toronto, which has won five straight at the Air Canada Centre.
Simon Gagne netted the lone goal for the Flyers, who host Game Five on Sunday.
"It's like a tennis match right now," Tucker said. "Both teams have held serve. Hopefully, we can go in there and win in their rink. We have to to win the series."
Outhustled in Game Three, Philadelphia jumped on an early mistake by the Leafs to get on the scoreboard.
After a faceoff win in the Toronto zone, McCabe lost the puck in the low slot, allowing Gagne to swoop in and fire it past Ed Belfour at 7:44.
"It was just a fluke thing," McCabe said. "I looked up, tried to pass and all of a sudden, the puck wasn't there. It was a bad break. I kind of hung Eddie out to dry."
Keith Primeau missed an opportunity to double the lead with 11:19 to go in the first, when Belfour made a save after the Flyers captain turned defenseman Tomas Kaberle inside out and cut to the slot.
Sundin knotted the contest less than five minutes later, but Esche denied tough guy Tie Domi on two chances from alone in front with 4:55 to go, keeping the game even.
With defenseman Kim Johnsson down low during a rush in the second period, Philadelphia right wing Mark Recchi made an ill-advised back pass from the left boards that ended up on the stick of Roberts. Sundin took a feed and carried down the right side before cutting to the slot and slipping a backhander between Esche's pads at 7:45, giving Toronto a 2-1 edge.
"Mats is their best offensive guy," Primeau said. "He creates so much for them. He's got great speed. You can't give him space. He got a couple of chances and he ended up scoring."
Philadelphia, which saw its league-leading power play fail to convert all four chances in the game, just killed off an inteference penalty to Ragnarsson early in the third before the Leafs opened a two-goal advantage.
From the blue line, McCabe wristed a shot that was tipped in the slot by Tucker. The puck proceeded to carom off the left skate of Johnsson and over Esche's left shoulder at 2:19.
"They got some goals that went in off bodies," Primeau said. "It was the same thing that happened with us at home."
Belfour, who matched Esche with 28 saves, notched his 88th career playoff victory, tying Billy Smith for third on the NHL's all-time list.