PHILADELPHIA -- As the playoffs get closer and closer, the Philadelphia Flyers continue to pick up steam.

A postseason situation that looked dire several weeks ago has gotten better and better for a team that is still in many ways finding itself but could be an underdog to watch come playoff time.

The Flyers kept up their late-season momentum down the final few weeks of the regular season on Saturday, getting two power-play goals from winger Wayne Simmonds to pave the way to a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators in front of 19,578 fans at the Wells Fargo Center.

Flyers goalie Steve Mason stopped 33 of 35 shots for his 22nd win of the season and fifth in the last seven games.

"We have all the confidence in the world right now, especially when you have a goalie like Mase playing lights out," Simmonds said. "It makes it a lot easier on us."

All three of the Flyers' tallies were with a man advantage, something that had not been a strength of the club this season. The Flyers entered the afternoon 18th in the league on the power play (18.1 percent) but were able to capitalize on all but one Senators penalty on Saturday afternoon.

Simmonds opened the scoring with a goal early in the second and scored the eventual game winner in the third, his 28th of the season. The eighth-year pro's second tally of the afternoon came with 12:45 remaining on a rebound at the side of the net, restoring a two-goal advantage for the home team.

"I don't know about (our best power play) all year but it was going good," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. "They did a great job today and that was the difference in the game for us."

Ottawa got a power-play goal of its own with 7:32 left, a blast off the stick of center Mike Hoffman, but could not find the equalizer despite pulling goalie Andrew Hammond for the final minute of play.

Hoffman's goal, which set a new career mark as his 28th of the season, ended a 0-for-39 streak for the Senators' special teams, but that unit's struggle on the other end of the ice was the difference maker.

"It's nice to break out of the one slump with the power-play goal but obviously our penalty killing hasn't been great all year and to give up three in one game, you're not going to win too many games doing that," Hammond said. "Frustrating game overall."

Hammond allowed the three goals on 36 shots.

The win was the third straight for the Flyers (39-25-13), who have picked up at least one point in six of their last seven games to surge into the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with five games remaining.

With 91 points, the Flyers are just two points back of the New York Islanders -- who lost at home to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday afternoon -- for the seventh seed in the playoffs.

They're much more concerned with the teams behind them, namely Detroit, who's just two points behind with four games to play.

"We just want to make the playoffs," Simmonds said. "We're trying to solidify our spot. If we catch some teams on the way, then that's great. We just want to make sure that we're getting in. That's our goal."

The Senators (36-34-9), which gave up the first goal in the game for the 50th time this season, had been previously eliminated from playoff contention earlier in the week.

Coach Dave Cameron was disappointed with the result but was pleased with his team's overall effort against arguably one of the hotter team in the NHL.

"I thought we were real good five-on-five, gave up three power-play goals and we played a reasonably good game against a team that's fighting for their playoff lives," he said.

After a scoreless first period, the Flyers capitalized on their power-play opportunities in the second.

A high-sticking penalty on Ottawa's Alex Chiasson gave Philadelphia a man advantage just 51 seconds into the middle period, and 41 seconds Simmonds redirected a Jakub Voracek pass past Hammond for a 1-0 advantage.

"I thought their first power-play goal was just epitomized our year," Cameron said. "We were trying to create something offensively when there was absolutely nothing there. We've been doing a good job of cleaning that up, and it crept back in."

Flyers center Sean Couturier doubled the lead at the 11:14 mark, burying home a rebound a minute after a slashing call against Ottawa defenseman Chris Wideman had left the Senators shorthanded yet again.

The Senators got one back with 2:12 left in the second period, when center Mika Zibanejad buried a slap shot past Mason for his 19th goal of the season.

NOTES: The Flyers and Senators split their previous two meetings this season, Ottawa 4-0 on Nov. 21 and Philadelphia 4-2 on Dec. 1. Both games were played in Ottawa. ... Flyers G Steve Mason made his eighth consecutive start, his longest consecutive stretch this season. ... The Flyers are 13-3-2 in their last 18 games. They are two points ahead of the Red Wings for the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with one game in hand. ... The Senators were eliminated from playoff contention on March 30 after the Flyers beat the Capitals in a shootout. ... Senators D Marc Methot and D Patrick Wiercioch were healthy scratches. ... Flyers C R.J. Umberger, C Jordan Weal, C Scott Laughton and D Evgeny Medvedev were scratched. ... The Senators recalled D Ben Harpur from Binghamton (AHL) on March 31.