MONTREAL (CP) - Sheldon Souray isn't ready to speak publicly about the breakup of his marriage to former Baywatch actress Angelica Bridges.

But the Montreal Canadiens defenceman said Friday it has not been a distraction, either to himself or the team, and has nothing to do with his inconsistent performance on the ice this season.

"You (reporters) didn't know, but a lot of people knew," Souray said. "The people who needed to know, knew.

"I'm not going to comment on it, but when the time is right, I can talk about it a little more."

The couple filed for divorce in August, three years after their glitzy wedding at a Las Vegas casino.

Normally, a hockey player splitting up with his wife isn't news, but this one made headlines this week.

Perhaps that's what happens when a player who has been called the sexiest in the NHL by a U.S. television network breaks up with an actress and Playboy cover model.

"When you're in the public spotlight, when there's two of you in it, you're going to get a lot of attention whether it's good or not so good," Souray said. "That's part of being in a very public, celebrity relationship.

"And I guess whatever went public was meant to go public for a reason."

It was after the story broke that Souray, a 29-year-old native of Elk Point, Alta., had one of his better games this season in a 4-3 loss in Ottawa on Thursday night, although Jason Spezza blew past him for the game-winning goal in overtime.

It was speculated that having the split come out in the open lifted some pressure off the six-foot-four, 225-pound defenceman. Not so, he said.

"I'd be the first one to tell you there's room for improvement in my game since the beginning of the season," he said. "But it could just be from playing poorly and nothing more than that.

"To be going through a personal situation that, believe me, didn't just happen all of a sudden in August. . . It's been a long time. You can probably count on one hand how many times you've seen us together here in three years. So it's not a relief, but it was never a distraction for me."

Souray and a dozen teammates skated in an optional practice Friday to prepare for two consecutive games against the Rangers - Saturday night in Montreal and Monday night in New York.

The Canadiens finished their first 10-game segment of the schedule a surprising 7-2-1 while the Rangers, picked to finish last in the Eastern Conference by some pre-season pundits, are 5-3-3.

"We're happy we got 15 out of 20 points in our first 10 games but I'm not the kind of coach who says everything's OK," coach Claude Julien said. "Things can change so quickly.

"You have to continue to get better all season."

Souray feels the same - that he hasn't played that badly, but there is room for improvement.

He said that coming back to a much-changed NHL after spending the 2004-05 lockout season in Sweden and playing for Canada at the world championships was an adjustment.

Early in the season, he took a lot of minor penalties while adapting to the NHL crackdown on obstruction, and he hasn't quite found his game on the power play.

In 2003-04, Souray was a force on the point for Montreal, particularly in the first half of the season, when he hammered in 15 goals and earned his first trip to the NHL all-star game.

In 10 games this season, he has a goal and two assists, but says he is pacing himself.

"I remember two years ago when I had a fairly good season, I was starting to get tired by the all-star break," he said. "Then I came back (from the all-star game) and got hurt in the first game.

"I was starting to fade a bit. I'm conscious of that. I'm not looking to come out and score 100 goals right off the bat, but I do want to be a leader and help the team. I'm getting there and when I get there, I'm going to stay there."

In the meantime, Souray can expect to see himself on TV a lot in the coming days. Not so much for his divorce, but because of the spectacular goal Spezza scored at his expense on Thursday night that is sure to be replayed countless times in highlight packages.

Playing four-on-four, the young Senators' dynamo broke down the right side, cut in past Souray and went in alone to lift a backhand shot over Jose Theodore's shoulder. Souray tried to bump him with his backside, but only got a piece of Spezza.

"I was caught on a long shift there," said Souray. "But maybe if I'd just got out there, he might have still made the same move on me.