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NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: SENATORS v SABRES

May 10, 2007

Ray Emery

BUFFALO, NEW YORK: Game One

Q. Ray, during -- last years' post-season story was when will Dominik come back, and you were sort of holding the fort. How does it feel this year, knowing the fort is yours and you're the number one?
RAY EMERY: Well, it's good. Maybe the guys have more confidence in me and I feel like I'm able to contribute more, but last year, you know, I didn't really think about it that much, to be honest with you. But it's definitely, you know, more solid situation for the team this year.

Q. How valuable was that experience last year?
RAY EMERY: It was great. It was a learning experience, you know, learned to kind of by trial and error how to react to a loss, a win, series win, time off, things like that. So I think I definitely can draw on some of the experiences.

Q. Ray, I wanted to ask you about some of the fans here are upset with your comments that there wasn't a lot to do in Buffalo. What kind of reaction do you expect to get from the fans here tonight and how does that affect you?
RAY EMERY: I think they'll really be cheering for me here (laughter). No, I don't know. What I said was there's more to do in Manhattan than Buffalo and, I don't know, but I think most people in the room would agree with me.
But, I don't know, that just adds to the series to me. You know, I didn't expect to get a warm welcome here anyway, and I'm sure they'll be booing and trying to get me off my game, but I like that atmosphere.

Q. What did you do last night?
RAY EMERY: I went to the mall and Cheesecake Factory.

Q. Can you talk about how aware you may be of Briere as the team's leading scorer.
RAY EMERY: What was that?

Q. Can you talk about how aware you are of Briere as the leading scorer for the Sabres.
RAY EMERY: Yeah, definitely. To me he's the most dangerous player on the ice for them and, you know, he has the puck a lot and enters the zone well with the puck and is dangerous around the net, finding teammates and putting it in himself. So, you know, he's one of those guys that definitely you see him around the boards, you're always aware of where he is on the ice.
Vanek is another guy like that. A little more deceptive and maybe doesn't have puck possession as much as Briere but can put it in the net just as easily.

Q. Ray, how would you say that your game has maybe become refined from last year until now?
RAY EMERY: I simplify things a little bit, try to just kind of make the same save over and over again and use my size to my advantage. Just little minor things in my game that I think makes me a better goalie all around right now and, you know, just still things I'm working on, but I definitely feel a bit more comfortable than I did last year in the net.

Q. What's the biggest difference with the team overall in terms of confidence and belief as compared to the team that lost to the Sabres last year?
RAY EMERY: I think we just had to deal with more adversity this year and came out on the right side of it every time. And last year, you know, it was kind of smooth sailing, smooth sailing, and even when -- I mean, maybe the biggest thing that happened last year was Dom got hurt and still kind of did okay, but then that was the first adversity that we had dealt with. We had a tough game in Game 1 against Buffalo, and Miller stood on his head in Game 2, and it was like the world was kind of falling down.
I think this year that we've dealt with a lot of situations where, you know, everyone has kind of been against us and came out of it. I think we have that confidence that, you know, we know we're definitely capable of battling through those situations.

Q. Why are you guys coming out on the right end dealing with adversity better this time around?
RAY EMERY: You know, I think we have a different game plan. Our team plays a bit differently. Some new faces, but yeah, when it comes down to it, I think it's still the same guys that have been here for awhile that are really carrying the team, and I think, you know, they've grown a bit, too, just seeing that we're all capable and almost look forward to battling through that adversity.

Q. Ray, the extra work you put in this morning, was there a concern that you have taking care of it?
RAY EMERY: No. I did kind of a little refresher course, and that's good to tweak things a bit, and I know that my feet are going to be under me when tonight comes around.

End of FastScripts

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