TORONTO (AP) – Mats Sundin responded when the Toronto Maple Leafs needed their captain most.

Sundin scored twice, including the game-winner, and sparked Toronto to a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 4 on Friday night, evening their second-round playoff series.

Darcy Tucker also scored and Gary Roberts had two assists for Toronto, which bounced back after losing the first two games at Philadelphia.

Simon Gagne scored for Philadelphia, which continues to look flat, nothing like the team that opened the postseason by winning six of its first seven, including eliminating New Jersey in five games in the first round.

Game 5 is Sunday at Philadelphia, where the Flyers are 5-0.

Toronto goaltender Ed Belfour stopped 28 shots to record his 88th career playoff victory, moving him into a tie for third place with former New York Islanders great Billy Smith.

The Leafs have won five straight at home, the first time they’ve done that in one postseason since winning five in a row in 1976.

For Sundin, it was his third game back after missing four with a leg injury, and he had other chances to score, including hitting the crossbar on a breakaway with 20 seconds left in the second period.

Sundin sparked a three-goal rally after Gagne opened the scoring 8 minutes in, converting Bryan McCabe’s giveaway in front of the Leafs net.

After Sundin tied the game 13 minutes into the first, his shot banking in off Flyers defender Marcus Ragnarsson, he put the Leafs ahead with a great individual effort 7:45 into the second period.

Carrying the puck up the right side, he cut to the middle catching Flyers defender Vladimir Malakhov flat-footed. Kicking the puck to his stick, Sundin then threaded a back-hander, beating Robert Esche through the legs.

It was Sundin’s first two-goal playoff game since he scored twice against New Jersey in the 2001 Eastern Conference semifinals. It was also Sundin’s 68th playoff goal, moving him into second place – one ahead of Dave Keon – among Toronto playoff scorers.

Tucker put the game away, deflecting in McCabe’s shot from the point for a power-play goal 2 minutes into the third.

Toronto’s offense is suddenly capitalizing on its chances, a trend that began in Wednesday’s 4-1 win. The Leafs have scored seven goals in their last two games, after managing just 16 in their first nine playoff outings.

The Maple Leafs appeared to gain the momentum midway through the first period after they were outshot 10-5. Toronto responded to dominate the game into the second period, out-shooting the Flyers 21-13 when Sundin scored his second goal.

The game wasn’t as chippy as Wednesday’s, when the Maple Leafs appeared to rattle Philadelphia and get the Flyers into taking retaliatory penalties.

Philadelphia did run into penalty problems in the first period on Friday, getting called for three straight in the final four minutes. The Leafs, however, failed to convert, including a 79-second two-man advantage that stretched into the second period.

Notes: Flyers assistant coach Craig Hartsburg escorted a Toronto radio personality out of a doughnut shop Friday after the unidentified person confronted coach Ken Hitchcock, Flyers spokesman Zack Hill said. … Flyers D Kim Johnsson returned after missing the first three games of the series with a broken bone in his right hand. … Leafs C Joe Nieuwendyk missed his third straight game with what is believed to be a back problem. Nieuwendyk has practiced for the last three days and is hopeful for Game 5. … Including the regular season, the Flyers are 0-14-6-0 when failing to score two or more goals.

AP-ES-04-30-04 2139EDT