NEWARK, N. Rob Gronkowski Womens 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.Kevin Faulk Patriots Jersey . - Connor Brown and Dane Fox both scored in regulation and in the shootout, as the Erie Otters extended their win streak to 10 games by defeating the London Knights 4-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Julian Edelman Jersey . 1-9 on TSN. With more than 65 hours of exclusive live coverage, TSN delivers all the action beginning with Draw 1 on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 2 p.TORONTO – Marcus Stroman is returning to the Blue Jays and will make his first career major league start on Saturday against the Kansas City Royals. The purpose, as laid out by manager John Gibbons, is two-fold. "We want to get Stroman up here and give him a look," said Gibbons, identifying the first part of the equation. "Our thinking was were going to back (Drew Hutchison) off a couple of days. (Mark) Buehrle will throw Sunday. Hutch will throw Tuesday in Detroit. The plan all along, coming in, was we were going to pick some spots and give Hutch a little breather." Stromans time was coming sooner rather than later, whether it was Saturday, late next week or sometime in June. This is as much about shielding Hutchison, the 23-year-old right-hander who occupies one of the top three spots in Torontos starting rotation along with Buehrle and R.A. Dickey. Hutchison, remember, underwent Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery in July 2012. After a year-long recovery, he threw 26 2/3 innings in seven minor league starts late last year and followed that up with 21 2/3 innings in six starts in the Arizona Fall League. Do the math: Hutchison entered this season having thrown 48 1/3 innings of competitive baseball in the better part of two years. Already in 2014, in 11 starts for Toronto, Hutchison has thrown 65 innings. "After his last start I thought he looked a little bit tired," said Gibbons. "I thought it was the perfect time to give him a couple of extra days." To accommodate Stroman on the active roster, the Blue Jays designated reliever Bobby Korecky for assignment just one day after selecting his contract from the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. Korecky retired the final four Royals hitters in mop up duty on Friday night. The Jays fell to Kansas City 6-1. With Stroman throwing Saturday, followed by Buehrle on Sunday, an off day on Monday, Hutchison on Tuesday, Dickey on Wednesday and J.A. Happ on Thursday, Gibbons could return to Buehrle for Friday nights gamme against the St. Steve Grogan Youth Jersey. Louis Cardinals. His other option is to go with a six-man rotation for the time being, something he considered earlier this season before Brandon Morrows injury changed the plan, and continue to include Liam Hendriks in the mix. "Doesnt mean anything right now," said Gibbons of Hendriks status. "Hes on schedule. Hell pitch sometime at the end of next week when hes scheduled." A six-man rotation? "No, were not sure how its all going to play out," said Gibbons. Stroman made five appearances out of the bullpen in an earlier stint with the Blue Jays this season. The results were mixed but he thrived in high-leverage situations, including getting his first big league victory in a 6-5, 10-inning win over Philadelphia on May 5. Groomed since the beginning of last season to be a starter, Stroman will bring his swagger to the mound on Saturday and his former Bisons teammate, catcher Erik Kratz, is looking forward to seeing it. "He sees that his stuff plays when hes on and when his stuff is on there are very few who are as good as he is," said Kratz. "Theres a reason hes a prospect or whatever it is or that hes being asked to come in and start in the rotation. I expect to see a guy thats going to come out and give everything hes got and have a lot of success." Stroman was sent back to Buffalo after the Blue Jays wrapped up a series in Texas almost two weeks ago. He alluded to some confusion over not having been a starter in his first go round in Toronto. Stroman sports a 3.03 ERA and a 1.150 WHIP for Buffalo. Kratz thinks hell be more comfortable with a defined role. "I think it was hard for him to understand where he needed to be out in the bullpen," said Kratz. "Does he throw all of his pitches? Does he not throw all of his pitches? The way that he goes out in the game, hes a gamer, thats something that I think he learned from his first time, that his stuff plays. He just needs to keep going after guys." ' ' '