Former Flyer Ray Emery resurrects his career with Blackhawks

CHICAGO - For all the history the Chicago Blackhawks created with their remarkable start this NHL season, it was a relative newcomer and former Flyer, goalie Ray Emery, who played a central role.

It's also Emery, 15-1-0 with a 1.90 goals-against average, who is at the top of his game as the Blackhawks, in first place in the Western Conference, gird for the playoffs.

On Tuesday, Emery made his third straight start, stopped 20 shots, and earned his third shutout of the season with a 1-0 win over the Minnesota Wild.

"He was unbelievable for us," Hawks winger Marian Hossa said after the game.

It's been like that nearly all season for Emery. As the Blackhawks started off by earning points in their first 24 games, Emery went 10-0-0, becoming the first NHL goalie to go unbeaten that long at the beginning of a season. Taking over as No. 1 after starter Corey Crawford suffered an upper-body injury Feb. 12, Emery did not perform like a player whose career appeared over not long ago.

While Crawford regained his starting role after he returned to the lineup Feb. 22, the 30-year-old Emery has played so well recently that Chicago coach Joel Quenneville has not named a No. 1 goalie for the rest of the season and playoffs.

Emery, along with another former Flyers goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky of the Columbus Blue Jackets, has played so well that both are candidates for the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goalie.

Emery's 10-game winning streak (with a 2.28 GAA) at the start of the season - the longest in franchise history - is all the more impressive considering the Blackhawks' lineage in goal: Hall of Famers Glenn Hall and Tony Esposito as well as two-time Vezina Trophy winner Ed Belfour.

One of the highlights of Chicago's historic early run was Emery's performance in a 3-2 win at Calgary on Feb. 2, when he made 45 saves and stopped all three shots he faced in a shootout.

"That was criminal," Quenneville said after that game. "They've got to call the cops after that performance. [Emery] stole two points. He was spectacular.

"I've never, ever been outplayed, outchanced like that in my life. That was a special performance, and it continued on in the shootout."

This is the same goalie who arrived in Philadelphia in 2009 after spending parts of five seasons in Ottawa and leading the Senators to the Stanley Cup Finals (which they lost to Anaheim) in 2007. After being released by the Senators - Emery had been late to practice and scuffled with teammates - he went through several weeks of behavioral counseling before playing in Russia during the 2008-09 season.

Then he signed a one-year deal for $1.5 million with the Flyers and was seen as a potential star.

But things fell apart fast. After going 11-4-1 with a 2.31 GAA to open the 2009-10 season, Emery suffered a torn muscle in his abdomen and went 0-4 with a 5.35 GAA trying to tough it out.

He went on long-term injured reserve in December 2009 and had surgery to repair the muscle. After he returned in January 2010 following a six-week absence, Emery made eight starts, went 5-3, and helped the team reach the playoffs. The Flyers lost in the Stanley Cup Finals to the Chicago Blackhawks, 4 games to 2, without Emery.

A 3-0 win at Calgary on Feb. 1, 2010, turned out to be Emery's last game as a Flyer. It was discovered shortly after that game that Emery had avascular necrosis of the hip, which is a loss of blood supply that causes the bone to collapse. So, in April of that year, a piece of bone was taken from his lower leg to prevent the hip from collapsing and allow it to heal.

The surgery was similar to what Bo Jackson had done to his hip in the early 1990s.

Emery ended his Flyers career with a 16-11-1 record.

"It was disappointing, because I really thought it was a good fit," he said last month of his time with the Flyers.

"I got injured, and I had two surgeries while I was [with the Flyers]," he said. "It was the worst possible situation that could have happened."

Then came months of grueling rehabilitation with trainer Matt Nichol, with no guarantees of success.

"I didn't know if I was going to play again," said Emery, who was not re-signed by the Flyers. "I love playing hockey, but it is not the end of the world if I can't play hockey. I just wanted to give it my best effort. I could live with that if I did my best to come back."

It wasn't easy, and there was a great deal of pain in the arduous sessions. But it paid off when Emery was signed by the Anaheim Ducks in 2011 and went 7-2-0. Later that year, when Chicago was looking for a backup for Crawford, general manager Stan Bowman brought in the veteran on a one-year deal.

Last season, Emery played in 34 games in the first year of his partnership with Crawford and went 15-9-4.

"We are two guys who want to play well and be in the nets," Crawford said. "We encourage and feed off of each other instead of really competing. It's more of a cohesive tandem."

So far, Emery's only loss of the season came March 29 in a 2-1 setback against the Ducks.

"You learn from your mistakes," Emery said. "And that is where I am at this stage of my career."