Ray Emery undergoes abdominal surgery

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Beleaguered Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Ray Emery underwent surgery Wednesday to repair a torn muscle in his lower abdominal wall.

Emery, 27, playing his first season with Philadelphia, will be sidelined for the next six weeks.

The fourth-round pick by the Ottawa Senators in the 2001 NHL Draft had given up nearly three goals per contest in 21 games and had been heckled or booed several times by Flyer fans in the wake of the team's disappointing start.

"It's been bothering Ray probably since before mid-November, and it's gotten progressively worse," General Manager Paul Holmgren said on the team's Web site.

"I want to play and I want to help my team," Emery, an off-season free agent signee, said recently. "If they want me in there, then I was willing to be."