The Phoenix Coyotes may be forced to continue their playoff push without goalie Mike Smith, beginning Tuesday in Pittsburgh.
Phoenix (34-26-12) had won three straight overall and seven of nine before suffering back-to-back losses, 4-2 to Boston on Saturday and 4-3 in overtime at the Rangers on Monday.
The Coyotes led 2-0 after the first period and went up 3-2 late in the second, but Thomas Greiss allowed the tying goal with 3:28 left in regulation shortly after relieving Smith.
Smith, who was making his 12th consecutive start, stopped 25 of 27 shots before exiting with a right leg injury. His status remains unclear going forward.
"Smitty is one of the best goalies in the league," said centre Kyle Chipchura, who had two points. "To lose him will be really tough for us."
The Kingston, Ont., native has started 61 of his team's 72 games, a higher percentage than any No. 1 goaltender in the league.
Smith has posted 27 of Phoenix's 34 wins, with three shutouts, a .915 save percentage and 2.64 goals-against average.
Smith's injury comes at a less than opportune time for the Coyotes, who are one point ahead of Dallas for the Western Conference's second wild-card spot. The Stars, who visit Chicago on Tuesday, have a game in hand and two more regulation/overtime wins than Phoenix.
In addition to Smith, Coyotes forward Lauri Korpikoski is uncertain to play after missing Monday's game with an upper-body injury.
Pittsburgh (46-20-5) has gone 2-3-1 over its last six after falling 1-0 to St. Louis on Sunday, its second shutout over that stretch. Marc-Andre Fleury allowed the game's only goal midway through the third period, dropping to 0-2-1 with a 3.96 goals-against average in his last four starts.
"We had the right mentality," defenceman Matt Niskanen told the team's official website. "We knew how they were going to play. We were ready for it. I thought we did a pretty good job of doing what we wanted to. That's a good game for us to play because that's how it's going to be in the postseason. Things are going to be tight and I thought we did a pretty good job today except for finding a goal."
Pittsburgh, which went 3 for 6 on the power play in Saturday's 4-3 overtime win over Tampa Bay, has otherwise gone 1 for its last 24. The Penguins were 0 for 5 on Sunday, dropping to 3-7-0 over their last 10 when failing to score on the man advantage.
"It would have been nice to get one on the power play," said captain Sidney Crosby, whose team is 13 points ahead of the second-place Rangers with two games in hand. "Obviously that's the big story here. We battled and didn't find a way to score. We still have to do a better job of generating some chances, some rebounds around the net and having some more numbers there. It's not as easy as just saying that. You have to battle in those areas."
The Penguins also failed to generate much offence in a 3-1 loss at Phoenix on Feb. 1. Mike Ribeiro had a goal and an assist and Smith made 23 saves as the Coyotes snapped a three-game losing streak in the series.
Fleury has never lost to Phoenix at home, surrendering one goal in each of his three wins. Crosby has three goals and seven assists in seven meetings against the Coyotes, and Evgeni Malkin has notched four and six in his last seven.
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