Raffi Torres continues to play on the edge, and the Canucks are now reaping the rewards of his aggressiveness.
I looked at the stat sheet after Game 4 of the San Jose-Vancouver series and noticed that Raffi Torres was credited with just one hit.
One measly hit.
That's all they had listed under the "HT" heading that's flanked on one side by "MS" (Missed Shots) and on the other side by "GV" (Giveaways). Hard to believe that's all the red-headed bulldozer had but what a one it was.
Listed undeniably for the smack down the 6-foot, 216-pound Canuck gave to the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Joe Thornton. He knocked him out of the game with what's believed to be a shoulder injury, and may be out of the rest of the series.
They didn't even list his barrelling over of 6-foot-3, 240-pound Douglas Murray which was called as a charge. He got two minutes for it.
But ultimately, it’s charging up the game that Torres specialized in. Sometimes it's for you, sometimes it's for them. I firmly believe in the opening round of the playoffs, that his bashing of Brent Seabrook was part of, but not entirely, the reason Chicago came back.
They were upset at him for bulldozing their boy and then further disgusted by the fact that he received no suspension. It gave the nearly emotionally deadened Cup champs enough life to nearly bounce back the series win.
But that's what Torres does and that's what he's always done. The winger plays on or around the line and leaves it to the judgement of the referees and the league to decide when he crosses it.
They didn't think he crossed it on Seabrook, however the NHL firmly believed he took it too far with the head shot on Jordan Eberle. Torres is one of those players who can be a benefit in the regular season but it's in the post season where his value goes up exponentially.
He inflicts pain on his opponents on a regular basis. Not such a bad thing to do to the Sharks after Jamie McGinn got a two-for-one deal on Christian Erhoff and Aaron Rome in the previous game.
What Torres did to Thornton brought back memories of his demolishment of Milan Michalek of the San Jose Sharks in the 2006 playoffs. After San Jose won the opening two games, it appeared to be a battale of men vs. boys. Edmonton didn't have a chance.
That was until Torres the wrecking ball, nearly dislodged Michalek's head from his shoulders. A hit that these days would have been levied a suspension.
He stood up to the Sharks and the rest of the Oilers followed. San Jose never won another game after that.
The Sharks may be in a similar spot. They may not win another game in this series and it may be because Thornton won’t be dressing. Even if he can, I'm not sure how effective he'll be after Torres sent him to the ice.
Raffi Torres is a scary player. The 29-year-old has said he doesn't know how to play the game any other way.
It's that way or no way for the human wrecking ball.
