NEWARK, N.J. — Thomas Greiss stopped all three New Jersey shootout attempts and Mikkel Boedker scored on Phoenix’s first try to help the Coyotes defeat the Devils 3-2 Thursday night, improving 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. Their only loss was in overtime to the Rangers, and they posted wins over Pittsburgh and New Jersey with Greiss playing for injured No. 1 goalie Mike Smith.
Kyle Chipchura and Chris Summers scored for the Coyotes and Greiss made 26 saves, including two outstanding stops of Patrik Elias in the 5-minute overtime. He stopped Damien Brunner, Ryane Clowe and Elias in the shootout.
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.
Martin Brodeur made 25 saves, but was defenceless against Boedker’s top-shelf backhander in the shootout. While the Devils picked up a point, they are currently out of the playoff picture with nine games to go.
New Jersey was 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 Merrill’s 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. Henrique came out in front to slide the puck under Greiss for his team-leading 24th goal.
Coming off a 3-2 win over the Penguins on Tuesday, the Coyotes rode that momentum to an early goal by Chipchura. They swarmed the Devils net and seemed in control against the offensively inept Devils when Summers got his second of the season for a 2-0 lead with 3:03 left in the second.
Chipchura, who had a goal and an assist in an overtime loss to 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 Brodeur’s 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 Henrique’s 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.
