By Ian Mendes, Sportsnet.ca
The goaltending saga in Ottawa took another strange and dramatic turn on Friday morning when Ray Emery was sent home by head coach John Paddock.
But the Senators organization is insisting the reason Emery was sent home was because the netminder was sick – and not because they are unhappy with Emery’s attitude.
Emery arrived late to Scotiabank Place on Friday morning – around 10:55am – just five minutes before the start of a full team practice. At that point, he was met by Paddock who told him not to bother skating with the team if he wasn’t feeling well.
“He got here late and he wasn’t feeling good,” said Paddock. “He wanted to practice, but I told him to go home for the day.”
On Thursday, Emery caused a ripple at the end of an optional skate, when he knocked down water bottles and then threw his stick into the emtpy stands.
Paddock said that he didn’t speak to Emery about Thursday’s incident, but that general manager Bryan Murray “dealt with the issue”.
The netminder has been unhappy with his lack of playing time in recent weeks. Since injuring his hip in the first period of a December 12th game at Carolina, Emery has started just one of the team’s last eight games.
