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NEWARK, N. jerseys from china .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. wholesale jerseys .C. -- J.B. Holmes was a 3-foot putt away from winning the Wells Fargo Championship when he backed away to size up the situation. nfl jerseys china . Bilodeau, from Montreal, won his third straight World Cup moguls event over the weekend, edging out teammate and rival Mikael Kingsbury of Deux-Montagnes, Que. Kingsbury and Marc-Antoine Gagnon of Terrebonne, Que. BOSTON -- The Boston Red Sox have finalized a $9.5 million, two-year contract with right-handed reliever Edward Mujica. Mujica had 37 saves and a career-best 2.78 ERA for St. Louis in 2013 and was selected an All-Star for the first time. But he lost his job as closer with a series of bad outings in September and pitched only two innings in the Cardinals playoff run, which ended with a six-game World Series loss to Boston. Mujica gives the Red Sox some pprotection if closer Koji Uehara, who turns 39 in April, cannot repeat his 2013 performance next season. jerseys nfl cheap free shipping. In an eight-year career, the 29-year-old Venezuelan has a 19-19 record with 41 saves and a 3.75 ERA. The deal, agreed to Thursday and announced Saturday, calls for salaries of $4.75 million a season. He can earn $1 million annually in performance based on games finished: $125,000 for 20 and each additional five through 55. cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
