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Senators one win from Eastern Conference finals

May 5, 2007 - 1:50 PM Ottawa at New Jersey 8:00 pm EDT Eastern Conference semifinal Ottawa leads series, 3-1

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- The Ottawa Senators have reached the playoffs in 10 consecutive seasons but have just one Eastern Conference final to show for it.

The Senators can secure a second appearance in the conference finals on Saturday if they defeat the New Jersey Devils at Continental Airlines Arena in Game Five of their conference semifinal matchup.

Ottawa leads the best-of-seven series three-games-to-one and has history on their side, considering they are 5-0 in playoff series they have led by that count.

Ironically, Ottawa's only other conference finals appearance came in 2003, when it erased a three-games-to-one deficit against New Jersey, only to lose the deciding seventh game at home. The Devils must now do the same in this series just to force a Game Seven in their building.

Comebacks of this sort are not exactly foreign to the Devils and netminder Martin Brodeur, who rallied from a three-games-to-one deficit against the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2000 conference finals and went on to win the second of their three Stanley Cup championships.

"Fortunately, it's nice to go back home when you face a situation like that," Brodeur said. "We'll see if we can pull one out and go from there. We'll have to take it step by step. We're looking at the end of the tunnel and we can't afford any mistakes."

Ottawa is hoping that netminder Ray Emery, who made 29 saves in the team's 3-2 Game Four win, will continue his strong despite being involved in a minor automobile accident Friday.

According to a report by TSN of Canada, the goaltender was involved in the accident on his way to the airport. Attempting to catch a plane to New Jersey, Emery crashed his white Hummer in an accident that also involved two other vehicles, TSN reported. No one appeared to be injured in the accident.

Emery was forced to catch a later flight and has joined the team. The 24-year-old is 7-2 this postseason with a 2.04 GAA, .917 save percentage and two shutouts, including a blanking of the Devils in Game Three.

If a Game Six is required, it faces the possibility of postponement. The game is slated for Monday in Ottawa, but workers at Scotiabank Place, including zamboni drivers, will be in a legal position to strike that day as they are without a contract.