PHILADELPHIA -- If Thursday's game was a precursor, the Philadelphia Flyers' all-important six-game homestand should live up to the hype.

Philadelphia goaltender Michal Neuvirth provided opening dramatics to the do-or-die stretch by making a jaw-dropping save with 2.6 seconds remaining, buoying the Flyers to a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild at Wells Fargo Center.

"It's still hard to believe. Two seconds left, you make that kind of save," Philadelphia right winger Pierre-Edouard Bellemare said. "I look on the replay and I see it and I'm like, 'Wow.'"

With the Flyers nursing a one-goal lead, Neuvirth made a diving stop with his stick, catching the puck right before the goal line on a snap shot by center Charlie Coyle.

It was initially ruled no-goal and confirmed after official review.

"Especially with the timing, it's got to be one of the best saves I've ever made," Neuvirth said.

Bellemare broke a 2-2 tie with the game-winning goal 3:21 into the third period, helping the middling Flyers (27-22-11) stem the tide and climb within three points of the Eastern Conference's second wild-card spot.

While falling forward from a check in the back, Bellemare scored on a wrist shot as eight different Flyers recorded a point. Prior to the win, Philadelphia had lost seven of its previous 10 and six of its last eight at home.

Meanwhile, the Wild (27-24-10), in the midst of a trying month, are now on their first losing streak under interim coach John Torchetti. Minnesota dropped two games in a row after winning four straight since the firing of coach Mike Yeo, who lost his job with the Wild riding an eight-game skid.

"I liked our effort," Torchetti said. "I just think their goalie was really good tonight. He made a couple of really big saves. I think we should've been playing into overtime."

Despite the struggles, Minnesota remains in the hunt and four points out of the Western Conference's second wild-card spot. On Thursday night, the Wild erased two deficits but couldn't trump a third.

"It's good we battled back twice to tie it up," Minnesota left winger Thomas Vanek said. "But if we want to be a playoff team, we have to get over that hump and win the game in the third."

Neuvirth, making his second straight start, also made an impressive leg save late in the third period as Philadelphia killed off a two-minute Wild man advantage.

"Guys battled hard and (Neuvirth) did a real good job," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said.

Minnesota goalie Devan Dubnyk took the loss despite making 28 saves.

"(The game) went an inch both ways," Torchetti said. "Third goal we gave them we didn't collapse a half of stick blade. And a half of stick blade (at the end)."

The Flyers opened the scoring in the waning moments of the first period.

Philadelphia center Sam Gagner, entrenched deep in the crease, gathered a loose puck and wrapped it around the outstretched leg of Dubnyk to stake the Flyers to a 1-0 lead with 1:15 left in the first.

The Wild took little time squashing the deficit in the second period by netting a power-play goal in their ninth straight road game, a franchise record.

It was done in dazzling fashion as Vanek put home a wicked deflection between the circles for his 18th goal of the season.

"We battled," Coyle said. "We battled and it was right there."

Philadelphia promptly answered with its own power play nearly four minutes later when defenseman Mark Streit took a cross-ice pass from left winger Matt Read and laced a snap shot for his first goal since Jan. 13.

But Minnesota knotted it again as center Mikael Granlund corralled a bouncing puck in front and backhanded the rebound past Neuvirth at 13:16 of the second.

That was the last Neuvirth would allow. He made six saves in the third period.

And the final one the biggest.

"That was crazy," Coyle said. "It's a game of inches. Just a great save."

NOTES: C Claude Giroux missed his third straight game with an upper-body injury. Giroux is considered day-to-day. C Sam Gagner took Giroux's spot on the Flyers' top line. ... Wild LW Zach Parise was out with an upper-body injury and considered day-to-day. ... Flyers C R.J. Umberger and D Evgeny Medvedev were healthy scratches for the second consecutive game. ... Wild LW Jason Zucker, who was put on injured reserve Wednesday because of a concussion, was replaced on the top line by C Jordan Schroeder. Schroeder was recalled Wednesday from Iowa of the AHL. ... Wild D Nate Prosser and G Niklas Backstrom were healthy scratches.