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NHL: Sabres

Grit, goals shuffle to Buffalo with Torres
By Jason Reed
Hockeytalk.biz

MARCH 8, 2010 -- BUFFALO -- Without stepping on the ice, Raffi Torres became the Sabres' leading goal scorer Wednesday.  Torres was the lone addition to the Sabres at the trade deadline, coming over from the Columbus Blue Jackets for Nathan Paetsch and a second round draft pick and was the only player Sabres GM Darcy Regier acquired at the deadline.

Raffi Torres

One wouldn’t expect 19 to be the goal lead on a team, but the 2009-10 version of the Sabres is a balanced attack that can beat you many different ways.  Shut down Derek Roy?  No problem—here comes Jason Pominville.  Did someone find a way to stop Tim Connolly?  Thomas Vanek can step in and light the lamp.  That balanced attack takes pressure off Torres and a lack of pressure means he can go out and focus on playing the game his way.

“I’m really happy to be on a team that knows how to win,” Torres said after his first game with the Sabres Friday night. 

Winning wasn’t something Torres was used to in Columbus.  He comes from the 14^th best team in the Eastern Conference to the three seed in the East and that fact alone is enough to make any player happy.

Buffalo was mired in a 1-6-2 slump before Torres’ arrival.  Torres’ first game in Sabre blue was a 3-2 OT victory against the Philadelphia Flyers at HSBC Arena Friday night.  Torres picked up an assist on Connolly’s overtime goal and it proved to be a big first point for the rugged left wing. 

“It felt good to get a point in my first game here,” Torres said.  “I wanted to get things started on a good note.”  A good note is just what the Sabres needed after struggling offensively in their last 13 games.  Only four times in those 13 did they manage to score more than two goals. 

“He (Torres) is a big kid with a great shot,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said.  “We know what he brings to the table and we think that he can be a big help to our team.” 

With Torres’ arrival, Ruff changed up his top two lines a bit, putting Torres with Roy and Pominville. 

Torres’ second game as a Sabre came in a 2-1 overtime win over the Rangers Sunday night at Madison Square Garden.  Torres joined Adam Mair and Mike Grier on the team’s third line, then paired with Roy during the extra session, during which the equally-abrasive Pat Kaleta scored the winner. 

“I just want to go out, play physical and score goals when I have the opportunity,” Torres said.  “I want to be an asset to this team.”  Besides his ability to score, another asset Torres brings to the team is playoff experience.  In 2005-6 he was a member of the Edmonton Oilers team that lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Finals.  That experience will be helpful to Buffalo down the stretch and as they march into the playoffs, hoping to keep their home ice advantage as long as they can.

Torres’ abrasive style is well-suited to the team’s goal of becoming tougher to play against.  Kaleta has played a large role this season, and the club brought Grier back after two seasons in San Jose. 

In his first game Torres picked up 17:25 worth of ice time—not bad considering the day before he spent much of his first practice working with assistant coach James Patrick, trying to pick up Ruff’s system.  In Columbus, Torres was averaging just 13:30 ice time per game. 

Being on the ice more and with talented players like Roy and Pominville should elevate his game to another level and help push the Sabres deep into the playoffs.