Ray Emery tied former Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Bernie Parent for the NHL record for wins in a month with 12 during a 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Thursday. Photo: A. Ringuette/Freestyle Photography/OSHC

by Todd Anderson

With the 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Thursday, Senators goaltender Ray Emery tied former Philadelphia Flyers star Bernie Parent for the NHL record of 12 wins in a month.

Parent originally set the record for wins in a month during the 1974-75 season, when he won the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goaltender. Philadelphia finished with a record of 51-18-11 that season before going on to win the Stanley Cup.

Emery, who started each game for Ottawa in March and sported a record of 12-2-2, spoke about tying the record Friday after practice.

"Bernie Parent. Man, that's pretty cool. My dad was a big Flyers fan, so I had a few Bernie Parent cards. It was a good month for the team. More importantly, it has put us in a good spot heading into the playoff race."

Also during the victory on Thursday, forward Bryan Smolinski played in his 900th career NHL game.

Smolinski says reaching the milestone is something he'll proudly look back on when retirement comes.

"I never thought I would reach 900. I'm very proud. It's an honour. The game has offered a lot to me and my family. When you're 21, you just come in and you want to hold on. In three or four years you say ‘okay, if I can stay around until I'm 28.' To be pushing for 1,000 games now, that was never foreseeable."