ESPN NHL

The Philadelphia Flyers have made a habit of falling behind early, though it hasn't cost them too much lately.

They'll again look to ditch their slow starts Monday night when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Flyers (9-10-1) own one of the league's better offenses with 2.9 goals per game but have often neutralized their scoring with mediocre defense and goaltending, allowing 3.1 goals. They've hurt themselves particularly at the beginning of games by trailing in the first period five times in their last six contests, but have still managed to win three of the last four.

It happened again Saturday against Winnipeg as Philadelphia fell into a 1-0 deficit less than five minutes in. Despite tying the game at 1, the Flyers fell in another hole in the second, this time 3-1. They then scored four unanswered goals over the game's final 25:36 for a 5-3 victory.

"I think we talk about our starts all the time, we were on our heels, afraid to make mistakes," Danny Briere told the team's official website. "All the sudden it's like, we're in the hole already, and we're down 1-0, let's see what we can do. I think that's what happened here."

Braydon Schenn had a goal and an assist and Briere recorded an assist in his fourth straight game. Philadelphia also received a boost from the return of left wing Scott Hartnell, who missed the previous 16 games with a broken foot. Hartnell, who was second on team last season in points (67) and penalty minutes (136), fired five shots in 14:54 of ice time.

"I was pretty excited to have the big guy back in the lineup," said captain Claude Giroux, who had his sixth goal and 12th assist of the season. "He brings a lot to this team. He plays with a lot of heart."

The Maple Leafs (11-8-0) are 7-4-0 on the road but have lost three of their last four away from Toronto, including Saturday's 3-2 setback to Ottawa.

Toronto gave up the game-winning goal with 24 seconds left and sloppiness on offense continues to be a major issue. It had 10 giveaways against the Senators, which is right at its average of 9.4 per game -- one of the worst marks in the league.

"We knew that coming in," center Jay McClement said. "We just turned too many pucks over. That's what happens when we get away from our game. When we have success, we don't do that. We get the puck deep, we have more zone time and we get more chances."

Despite the loss, goaltender Ben Scrivens continues to play well in place of the injured James Reimer, who remains out indefinitely with a left MCL strain. Scrivens is 3-3-0 with a 1.92 goals-against average with two shutouts in making six straight starts since Reimer was injured in the second period of a 5-2 victory over the Flyers on Feb. 11.

Colton Orr, Matt Frattin and Clarke MacArthur all had second-period goals and Philadelphia's Ilya Bryzgalov was pulled after surrendering four goals on 14 shots.

That marked Toronto's second win in the last 11 meetings.