Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Philly’s Emery ‘one hundred percent’ OK with goalie platoon

Ray Emery

Philadelphia Flyers new acquisition Ray Emery speaks during a news conference, Tuesday, July 9, 2013, in Philadelphia. The Flyers signed a one-year contract with Emery. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

AP

Ray Emery’s return to Philadelphia comes in a different situation than his first tour of duty.

Back in 2009-2010, Emery was expected to carry the load in goal. Now he joins Steve Mason as part of the duo that hopes to do better than Ilya Bryzgalov had the previous two seasons.

Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer finds out that if Emery has to platoon this season, he supports it.

“One hundred percent,” he said. ". . . It’s more about the relationship. That’s not to say one guy doesn’t play tons and one guy plays fewer, but it’s more about making it comfortable and that you get the most out of both guys.”

You have to think Emery learned that approach this past season in Chicago where he and Corey Crawford teamed up to win the Jennings Trophy as the top goaltending tandem in the league. Even when the Vezina Trophy votes were announced, Emery wound up getting a first-place vote despite being Crawford’s backup all year.

If this approach can work for Mason and egos can take a back seat, maybe this can actually work out for the Flyers.