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PHILADELPHIA -- First, Robert Esche outplayed Martin Brodeur. Now, he's outperforming Ed Belfour.
Esche made 26 saves and Alexei Zhamnov scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period, helping the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 Sunday night to take a 2-0 series lead.
Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semi-final series is Wednesday night in Toronto. The Flyers have never lost a best-of-seven series in which they won the first two games, going 16-0.
"Esche seems like he's on a mission of proving he's the goalie of the future," Flyers forward Jeremy Roenick said. "He's in a zone."
Esche has won six of his seven playoff starts, allowing just 11 goals on 205 shots. The 26-year-old Esche has bested two goalies that have won four Stanley Cups between them, including three championships for Brodeur, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner.
In Philadelphia's first-round victory over defending Stanley Cup champion New Jersey, Esche stole Game 4 by recording his first playoff shutout with a spectacular 35-save performance in a 3-0 victory that gave the Flyers a 3-1 series lead.
"These are two guys that have done it year in and year out, and are arguably the two best goalies of our time," Esche said of Brodeur and Belfour.
"I don't look at like I'm playing against them. I'm playing against their team."
Despite getting captain Mats Sundin back, the Leafs couldn't generate much offense, getting their only goal from enforcer Tie Domi.
Flyers tough guy Donald Brashear also scored.
"We have to find ways to make good scoring opportunities for ourselves," Leafs coach Pat Quinn said.
"We have to find ways to get the results we want. If we can't find them, we have to make them."
Zhamnov put the Flyers ahead 2-1 with a power-play goal with 11:35 remaining. His shot from the side of the net trickled between Belfour's legs.
Esche made several outstanding saves, especially in the second period when the Flyers were outshot 11-1. He preserved the lead by stoning Clarke Wilm on a point-blank breakaway shot late in the third period.
"We're going to have to do better with our finish," Quinn said. "We had open nets that we didn't put the thing in.
"That's not the goaltending, it's the shooting."
In the second period, Esche fell to the ice into a seated position and robbed Chad Kilger with a glove save. Esche kept it at 1-all with a kick save on a one-timer by Alexei Ponikarovsky early in the third period.
"He was unbelievable," Flyers forward Mark Recchi said.
While Esche has been superb, Belfour had another subpar effort. He stopped 22 shots. Belfour, the only goalie still in the post-season who has won a Stanley Cup, had an excellent first-round series against Ottawa, tying an NHL record with three shutouts.
Sundin, Toronto's leading scorer in the regular season, returned to the lineup after missing four games with a leg injury. But centre Joe Nieuwendyk sat out with an undisclosed injury. Also, Owen Nolan remained sidelined with a knee injury.