PHILADELPHIA -- When the Philadelphia Flyers selected defenseman Ivan Provorov with the seventh pick of the 2015 NHL draft, they envisioned performances like the one he had Saturday afternoon against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Provorov recorded the first two-goal game of his NHL career and made one of the best defensive stops of the game, leading the Flyers to their fourth straight win, a 3-1 victory over the Blackhawks at the Wells Fargo Center.

"He is a guy that continues to work at his game and continues to build," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. "He didn't do a whole lot different tonight than he has really over the last 10 games. It was nice to see a couple of those pucks go in for him."

Brayden Schenn also scored for the Flyers, who improved to 13-10-3 and moved into playoff position for the first time since opening the season with a victory.

Goaltender Steve Mason stopped 26 of 27 shots to pick up his third straight victory.

Artemi Panarin scored the lone goal for the Blackhawks (16-7-3), who saw their four-game point streak (3-0-1) snapped.

Goaltender Scott Darling (27 saves) suffered his first regulation loss of the season (4-1-1) for the Blackhawks, who were without starting goaltender Corey Crawford, who underwent an emergency appendectomy Saturday morning in a Philadelphia hospital.

"His procedure went pretty well today, he's probably going to be out two to three weeks," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said.

Crawford's absence forced Darling into starting duty and prompted the Blackhawks to sign Eric Semborski to an amateur tryout contract.

"It's a huge loss," Darling said of Crawford, who won Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks in 2013 and 2015. "He's the best goalie in the league. Him and (Montreal's) Carey Price are in a category of their own. He's been great every night and great for us all year. He's also a great guy, one of the boys. We missed him in the room today for sure. I hope he's getting better."

Semborski, meanwhile, dressed for an NHL game for the first time in his career. He played club hockey at Temple University.

Semborski, 23, took warmups wearing Crawford's jersey.

"I was a bit rusty," Semborski said. "No matter how much I play I'll never be ready for them. It was fast and I couldn't even catch my breath because I was trying to take it all in. That was the best 20 minutes of my life skating out there with them. It was pretty cool."

The Blackhawks got on the board first 3:44 into the game when Panarin took a pass from Artem Anisimov and one-timed a shot past Mason for his ninth goal.

Provorov took over from there. The seventh overall pick of the 2015 NHL draft tied the score 3:02 into the second period when he blasted a slapper past Darling for his second career NHL goal.

Provorov gave the Flyers the lead 31 seconds later when he wristed a shot that fluttered past Darling's blocker for the first two-goal game of his career.

Schenn gave the Flyers a 3-1 lead at the 8:37 mark of the second period, taking a nice feed from rookie Travis Konecny and beating Darling from close range for his fourth goal.

The Blackhawks thought they drew within 3-2 with 3:22 remaining in the second period when Richard Panik jabbed a loose puck under the legs of Mason. But Provorov reached behind the goalie and swatted the puck off the goal line.

"I came from the left corner and I saw the puck was rolling on Mase's shoulder," Provorov said. "It went down, rolled to the goal line. I just got there as quick as I could and swiped it out."

After a video review, the officials ruled the replay inconclusive, denying Panik the goal.

NOTES: Blackhawks G Corey Crawford underwent an emergency appendectomy at a Philadelphia hospital before Saturday's game. "Corey presented this morning with acute appendicitis," Blackhawks head team physician Dr. Michael Terry said in a statement. "... We are anticipating a full recovery and return to play. We will provide details regarding the timeline of his return after we have more information about the surgery." Crawford, 31, had started 20 of the Blackhawks' 25 games, going 12-6-2 with a 2.27 goals-against average, .927 save percentage and two shutouts. ... In need of a backup goalie, the Blackhawks signed 23-year-old Eric Semorski to an amateur tryout contract. Semorski is from Bloomsburg, Pa., and currently lives in Philadelphia. He was a goaltender for the Temple University club hockey team. ... Flyers D Radko Gudas was a healthy scratch for the first time this season and was replaced with Brandon Manning, who missed the previous two games with a concussion. ... Blackhawks D Trevor van Riemsdyk returned to the lineup after missing 23 games with an upper body injury. ... The Flyers will take the players' fathers to Nashville for their game on Sunday against the Predators. ... The Blackhawks return home to face the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday.