Emery up, will back up tonight; Pielmeier down; Hiller update.

Well that didn’t take long.

Ray Emery was recalled from AHL affiliate Syracuse and will back up Curtis McElhinney tonight when the Ducks play the Kings. The move seemed inevitable after Emery’s 34-save effort last night for the Syracuse Crunch, his third start in five days after going 12 months without playing a live game.

Emery went 2-1-0 with a 2.62 goals-against average and .925 save percentage with the Crunch. He will wear number 36 with the Ducks.

“We didn’t think it was going to be this quick, but he’s played three hockey games, he’s played really well in them,” Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle told reporters this morning. “If we need him, we’re not afraid to put him in the net.”

Timo Pielmeier, who struggled in his first NHL appearance Saturday in St. Louis, was assigned to Syracuse.

Jonas Hiller, meanwhile, gave an update on his status Wednesday, telling reporters that the latest, most specific diagnosis of his “balance issue” is vertigo.

“It doesn’t really bother me during the day,” Hiller said. “I’m getting some treatment. It seems definitely to work, but it
looks like it takes time. It’s not where you can switch a button and
everything’s good again. It takes its time. It’s tough for me. I’ve been
out for a while and I wanted to be back as soon as possible. It’s
something you can’t just push and push. I have to feel right if I’m on
the ice.”

General manager Bob Murray, in a radio/TV interview on “NHL Live” this morning, said that Hiller could gain clearance to practice today or tomorrow. The Ducks host the Minnesota Wild on Friday.

“Hopefully one of these days I’ll be able to see how it goes on the ice,
try that out, because I can’t really tell how that’s going to feel,” Hiller said. “In
the gym it’s all right, but I don’t have to move my head around a whole
lot in the gym.”

As for Emery, Murray said there’s no rush to get him into an NHL game. He told NHL Live that the main reason Emery was recalled was because he wanted the goalie to face NHL shooters and work with Pete Peeters, who is in town this week.

“It’s a time for Ray to get up with our goalie coach and with our players,” Murray said.

This entry was posted in Anaheim Ducks/NHL and tagged , , , by J.P. Hoornstra. Bookmark the permalink.

About J.P. Hoornstra

J.P. Hoornstra covers the Dodgers, Angels and Major League Baseball for the Orange County Register, Los Angeles Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, Torrance Daily Breeze, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star-News, San Bernardino Sun, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Whittier Daily News and Redlands Daily Facts. Before taking the beat in 2012, J.P. covered the NHL for four years. UCLA gave him a degree once upon a time; when he graduated on schedule, he missed getting Arnold Schwarzenegger's autograph on his diploma by five months.

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