NEWARK, N. Kingsley Keke Jersey .J. -- Phoenix captain Shane Doan started laughing when asked if the Coyotes suddenly had a goalie controversy. "Goalie controversies are always good because that means they are both playing well," Doan said after the Coyotes defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-2 in a shootout Thursday night to improve their playoff chances in the Western Conference. The Coyotes, who currently hold the second wild-card spot, got five of six possible points on their three-game road trip and opened a five-point lead over idle Dallas. What made this trip so special was that No. 1 goalie Mike Smith went down with a lower-body injury late in the third period of the opener against the Rangers, but replacement Thomas Greiss posted wins over Pittsburgh and New Jersey. Phoenixs only loss on the road trip was in overtime to the Rangers. "We have a ton of confidence in Greisser," Doan said. "Everybody in here has been shooting on him all year and when he has gone in, he has been amazing. I dont know what his save percentage is, but its .925 or .930. He has been amazing for us." Greiss made 26 saves and stopped shootout attempts by Damien Brunner, Ryane Clowe and Patrik Elias in matching his career high with his ninth win (9-5-2) of the season. The trip did not start out well for Greiss. He gave up the tying goal late and the winner in overtime to the Rangers. But that didnt bother the 28-year-old German, who was backed up by Smith on Thursday. "Thats the goalies job, to have a short memory," Greiss said. "You just have to forget that stuff and move on." Mikkel Boedker scored on Phoenixs first shootout try against Martin Brodeur with a top-shelf backhander. "I went with a move I was comfortable with and its always good when the goaltender bites on your fake," Boedker said. Kyle Chipchura and Chris Summers scored for the Coyotes, who blew a 2-0 lead. Clowe and Adam Henrique scored for the Devils, who fell to 0-9 in shootouts this season and extended their NHL-record streak to 13 straight losses dating to last season. While the Devils picked up a point, they are currently out of the playoff picture with nine games to go. "Its a big part of the reason the playoffs are getting tougher and tougher to reach," said Brodeur, who finished with 25 saves. "So many points weve left on the table through the year. I figured we were due. Its been a while, we havent been in one. I was feeling good about it mentally. I thought we were going to pull through this one and boost our confidence a little bit knowing were able to do it, and again it was the same old thing." New Jersey appeared to be in trouble when Summers scored with 3:03 left in the second period to give the Coyotes a 2-0 lead. The Devils got back in the game with a little luck after Phoenix was called for a delay penalty in the final minute of the period. Brodeur scrambled to the bench and Clowe scored with less than a second left as he lay in the crease. The big left wing was cross-checked by Jeff Halpern, and defenceman Jon Merrills pass through the crease caromed off his chest and slid past Greiss, who had stopped the Devils first 16 shots with their sticks. Henrique tied the game midway through the third period, taking a pass from Elias and beating defenceman Michael Stone with a move behind the net for his team-leading 24th goal. Chipchura, who had a goal and an assist against the Rangers on Monday night in Madison Square Garden, scored his fourth of the season 2:21 into the first period. Lauri Korpikoski sent a pass from behind the net to Chipchura, who put a shot under Brodeurs pad. Summers, called up from the minors this month, made it 2-0 with a slap shot that beat a screened Brodeur. NOTES: Brodeur picked up his third assist of the season and the 45th of his career on Henriques goal. ... Korpikoski missed the previous two games with an upper-body injury. ... Devils captain Bryce Salvador was out with a lower-body injury. ... The Coyotes beat the Devils 3-2 in Phoenix in January. ... Coyotes D Connor Murphy, recalled from Portland (AHL) on Wednesday, was in the lineup. ... Merrill has a goal and two assists in his last two games. The rookie had a goal and six assists in his first 44 this season. ... Coyotes RW David Moss left in the second period with a lower-body injury. Dean Lowry Jersey . -- Josh Smith made a 3-pointer as time expired and finished with 20 points to lift the Detroit Pistons to a 99-98 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night in both teams exhibition finale. Don Chandler Jersey . However, Jim Popp isnt sure how long hell be able to admire wide receiver Duron Carter.(SportsNetwork.com) - The New York Islanders will try to solve their issues against Central Division opponents when they visit the Minnesota Wild for Tuesdays battle at Xcel Energy Center. The Islanders own an above .500 record against every division this season except the Central. New York is 2-3-0 versus the division after getting dealt a 6-4 home loss by the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. That encounter kicked off a stretch of four consecutive tilts against Central Division opponents. After visiting the Wild tonight, New York will head to St. Louis for Thursdays rematch against the Blues before returning home to face Chicago on Saturday. New York had won four in a row against the Wild before Minnesota routed the Isles, 6-0, on Long Island in the last meeting on March 18. It was the sixth win in the last 10 encounters for the Wild, who have lost their last two home tilts against the Islanders. The Isles started strong against St. Louis before falling apart in the second and third period. New York jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening stanza and chased Blues starting goaltender Jake Allen from the game. However, Martin Brodeur stopped 14-of-15 shots the rest of the way for St. Louis, which tallied three times in both the second and third periods to win 6-4. Frans Nielsen, Ryan Strome, Michael Grabner and John Tavares supplied offense for the Islanders, who had a three-game winning streak snapped and lost for just the third time in 16 games. Jaroslav Halak was on the hook for all six goals on 40 shots in defeat, ending his franchise-record personal win streak at 11. No question we struggled on the back end, Islanders head coach Jack Capuano said. It was just a matter of time before it came back to haunt us and it did. Were missing three of our top four D but we have confidence in this group of guys. The Isles played without defensemen Johnny Boychuk, Travis Hammonic and Lubomir Visnovsky, who are all currently on injured reserve with various ailments. Kevin King Jersey. However, Visnovsky and forward Josh Bailey, who missed the last two games due to injury, skated on Monday and Capuano said both could play tonight. New York fell to 6-4-0 against the Western Conference with Saturdays setback. The club is 13-4-0 versus the East. The Wild, who are 6-6-0 against the East, are 1-1-1 so far on a four-game homestand. Minnesota lost its most recent outing Friday against Anaheim, dropping a 5-4 decision in a back-and-forth contest. The Wild erased a 3-0 deficit to go ahead by one goal, but the Ducks would answer back for the win. Anaheim was ahead 3-0 after Ryan Kesler scored his second goal of the game at 2:28 of the second period. Minnesota would even the score by the end of 40 minutes and then grabbed a 4-3 edge when Justin Fontaine tallied 2:07 into the third stanza. The Ducks, however, evened the scored just 90 seconds later and Matt Beleskey would deliver the game-winner for Anaheim at 8:28 of the final period. Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, and Jonas Brodin joined Fontaine as the goal-scorers for the Wild, who were coming off a win over Montreal on Wednesday. Darcy Kuemper struggled between the pipes for Minnesota, allowing all five goals on just 18 shots. Well have to discuss [how comfortable the team is with Kuemper], Wild coach Mike Yeo said. Obviously, we have to make sure were strong there. Well evaluate that carefully. Niklas Backstrom will start tonight for Minnesota. He is 4-2-1 with a 2.17 goals against average in seven career games against the Isles. The Wild played their second straight game Friday without top defenseman Ryan Suter, who is battling the mumps. Suter is expected to return for tonights contest. Halak is 2-2-3 with a 2.11 GAA against the Wild and is expected to get the start tonight. ' ' '