SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) -- The Florida Panthers have had no trouble beating up on the NHL's lesser teams. On Monday, they showed one of the top teams that they mean business, too.

Robert Svehla scored two third-period goals as Florida beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1, stretching their winning streak to five.

	Florida's Paul Laus, left, watches teammate Robert Svehla's shot get past Flyers goalie John Vanbiesbrouck.

Florida has won seven of eight, while Philadelphia has lost three in a row, scoring a total of just two goals against New Jersey, Atlanta and Florida.

The Panthers, who have missed the playoffs the last two seasons, proved they could beat one of the Eastern Conference's best teams.

"It's very important to play well against top teams," Florida coach Terry Murray said. "I think the fact we did win against what I think is the most talented team in the NHL is good for the locker room."

Despite having one of the NHL's top records, Florida was 0-5 against Philadelphia, Toronto and Ottawa -- potential playoff opponents.

"It was a huge win for us," Panthers defenseman Lance Pitlick said. "It was emotional. They're leaders in this conference and we want to know that we can compete with them. We're playing much better now."

With the game tied at 1 and Daymond Langkow in the penalty box, Svehla's hard shot from the right boards went over the leg of John Vanbiesbrouck at 9:35.

Svehla added an empty-net goal with 18.3 seconds remaining from deep in the Panthers' end of the ice, his ninth goal.

"Sticks and legs," Svehla said, when asked what he saw on his goal. "I just shot it out of the way. I didn't really see anything, I just shot it out."

The teams appeared lethargic for much of the afternoon game. Quality shots were scarce in an opening period that was dominated by defense and by goalies Vanbiesbrouck and Mike Vernon.

Flyers center Eric Lindros missed his second straight game with a concussion, the third of his career. Lindros, injured Friday, is expected to be out for a week. The Philadelphia captain missed 18 games two seasons ago with a similar injury.

Vernon stopped 30 of 31 shots in the game Pitlick compared to a playoff contest.

"I don't try to do anything flashy, I just try to be consistent day in and day out," said Vernon, acquired by the Panthers in a Dec. 30 trade. "This team knows it can score goals. If we can keep the goals against down, we can be very competitive."

The Panthers weren't able to convert during a 90 second five-on-three and then Valeri Zelepukin staked the Flyers to a 1-0 lead just 1:46 into the second period on a power-play goal.

The Flyers are the NHL's best road power-play team, and entered the game leading the league in power-play goals. Zelepukin's goal was Philadelphia's 47th of the season with a man advantage.

"We had some really good chances particularly early on the power play," said Flyers coach Roger Neilson. "It would've been nice to have gotten one there in the third period."

Mark Parrish tied it for the Panthers with 3:33 left in the second with his 15th goal and third in as many games.

"Right now, the team is playing with a lot of confidence," said Florida's Rob Niedermayer, who notched assists on Svehla's goals. "You can say what you want, but when everyone has their confidence level high it makes a big difference in their game."

It is Florida's best winning streak since November 1995 when it won a franchise-best seven in a row en route to the Stanley Cup finals. The Panthers improved to 16-3-2 at home, including a 6-1 loss to the Flyers on Nov. 24.