Emery will start tonight against Caps, but he's a long way from being No. 1

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Ray Emery was biting his lip and his tongue yesterday.

The Senators goaltender will return to the net tonight against the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Place, but he looked and sounded frustrated in a media scrum that lasted a bit more than a minute following a 30-minute workout. If Emery is upset at being relegated to the role of No. 2 behind the sizzling Martin Gerber, he wasn't interested in discussing it.

"It's good to get back. The team is playing well," said Emery. "I just want to get involved again."

After leading the Senators to the Stanley Cup final last spring against Anaheim and having off-season wrist surgery in June, the last five weeks must have been difficult for Emery, who will make only his third start of the year.

Not only did Tuesday night's 5-1 thumping of the Toronto Maple Leafs give the Senators the best start in NHL history after 14 games (13-1 with 26 points), the team also set a club record with its eighth straight win.

Emery says he's not surprised he's had a hard time getting a start with Gerber posting a 10-1 record and 1.80 goals-against average.

"Not when the team is playing that well," said Emery. "I understand if you're winning, why mess with a good thing, right? I'm getting the chance to play and I'm happy."

Senators coach John Paddock decided to give Emery the start against the Caps because, "it's his turn to play." But Paddock didn't give Emery a ringing endorsement when it came to discussing his work ethic in practice.

"I don't think (his work habits are) any different than last year," said Paddock. "That doesn't mean it's exactly where you want it. But each player has a right to prepare the way they want to prepare. It might not be what we want and it might not be the best, but, over time if you think there's a tweaking needed, you make (an adjustment).

"I don't know when it was last year -- if it was in the playoffs or late in the season -- but we played Thursday and Saturday and (former coach) Bryan (Murray) made it a day off Friday and Saturday was optional. Emery didn't go out (either day) and we won. He's not the only player not practising like I might not like every day. He's no different than other guys. But, if they all practised like Zdeno Chara, they'd drive each other crazy because he's a perfectionist."

You can expect Gerber to start against the Montreal Canadiens Saturday which would be a pretty strong indication of where Emery stands.

"(Gerber) has been unbelievable," said centre Mike Fisher. "The way (Gerber) practises, competes, his character and the way he works out in the room, I'm not really surprised."

Emery's goal is simple.

"I've just got to get in and play well," he said.

 

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No Capital plans for Spezza



Senators star centre to sit out fourth straight game with groin injury, hopes to suit up Saturday against Habs


At 10:30 a.m. yesterday, Jason Spezza emerged from the dressing room and headed for the ice at Scotiabank Place.

"How's it going?" he was asked.

"I don't know, I'll tell you in about 20 minutes," Spezza answered with a laugh before taking a skate to test his injured groin.

While the Senators centre didn't take part in practice and won't be in the lineup tonight against the Capitals at Scotiabank Place, he's inching toward a return and hasn't ruled out suiting up Saturday against Montreal.

Spezza revealed yesterday that club doctors and the training staff told him when he first suffered the injury on Oct. 30 that he would be out of the lineup two weeks.

"I thought it was going to be quicker. The trainers thought it was going to be a couple of weeks. They were pretty dead-on with how long it was going to take," said Spezza.

If he doesn't play against the Habs, he'll almost certainly return next Thursday against the Sabres at Scotiabank Place. That would allow Spezza five days more days to heal.

"It's getting a little bit better and I'm definitely going in the right direction," said Spezza. "We're not putting a timeline on it. We're going to see how it feels and we're definitely going in the direction where I'm going to get in a game sooner rather than later."

Senators coach John Paddock said Spezza needs to participate in a full practice before returning to the lineup.

"If it feels like I can play Saturday, then I'll play Saturday," said Spezza. "We do have five days there (after the Montreal game) to let it heal more. I'd rather play sooner than later, but I'm not going to rush it."

NO BIG DEAL: The Senators weren't patting themselves on the back for having the best start in NHL history with a 13-1 record and 26 points through the first 14 games of the season. "It doesn't really mean a whole lot," said Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson. "Maybe after the season, when you look back and see some of the good things we've done, then you'll appreciate it more then." The Senators are now taking questions on whether they can match the 1976-77 Canadiens, who lost only eight games and finished with an incredible 60-8-12 record for 132 points. The Senators would like everybody to relax because there's a lot of hockey left to be played. "I never watched Montreal when they had their dynasty going," said Alfredsson. "Obviously, they did a lot of good things, and people have to find something to compare with. I think watching football the last two weeks, all the talk has been about the unbeaten (Patriots and Colts). One team had to lose that streak. The same thing goes for us: We're not going to win (every game). We're just trying to give ourselves a chance to win."

NO TRADES: Capitals GM George McPhee told the Washington Post that he makes calls all the time to his counterparts about trades to help his struggling club, but can't find any partners. "You would like to help your team, but has there been a trade made in this league since opening night? We call other GMs every week to see what's going on," said McPhee. "And there's not a lot going on in this league. I don't know if it's turned into the NFL, but it's really hard to make a trade." McPhee also told the Post that teams are having a tough time dealing with the salary cap and players being eligible for free agency earlier in their careers. "There's a lot more free agency now," said McPhee. "If you got a guy who has one year (remaining on his contract) and the other guy has two years, it deters you from doing things. Teams are also trying to fill their needs during free agency in the summer and are reluctant to give up (assets) during the season."