By Ian Mendes, Sportsnet.ca
John Paddock would not to name his starting goaltender for Saturday afternoon, when his team faces the Pittsburgh Penguins in a battle for top spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Senators head coach said he would tell Ray Emery and Martin Gerber which goalie was starting after the team arrives in Pittsburgh.
Emery has started six of the team’s past seven games – including a 3-2 shootout loss to Columbus on Thursday night. Gerber hasn’t played since he was in net for a 3-2 shootout loss on February 13.
The Penguins have won three straight games and have pulled to within one point of the Senators for first place in the conference. Ottawa has held onto top spot since October 4th.
In practice on Friday morning, John Paddock decided to break up his top scoring line in an effort to get his big stars going. The top trio of Jason Spezza, Daniel Alfredsson and Dany Heatley has combined for just one goal in the past five games.
In practice, Heatley skated on a line with Mike Fisher, while Spezza will likely play with Daniel Alfredsson. The Senators captain did not skate in practice on Friday, as Paddock gave Alfredsson the day off for maintenance.
The club did not have a further update on Chris Neil, who left Thursday’s game with an injured right knee.
