Boyes Delivers in Debut

Congratulations, Sabres fans! After the first period of last night's game against the New York Rangers, this year's deadline acquisition is already 100% more productive in terms of goals than last year, and is one point away from equaling that of Raffi Torres's short stint in Buffalo.

Almost a year ago, the Sabres traded Nathan Paetsch and a second round pick. The trade was widely regarded as a successful move for the Sabres and was a borderline steal when they acquired the player who amassed 50 points at that point in the year for a struggling Blue Jackets.

Torres, however, failed to live up to any of the expectations held for him while wearing the Blue and Gold. He failed to register a goal for the club and only amassed 5 assists through the remaining portion of the regular season and the first round of the playoffs.

Late Sunday night, the Sabres beat the Deadline Day Rush and made a trade in the midnight hours to acquire power forward Brad Boyes from St. Louis. The Blues received the Sabres 3rd round pick in this year’s draft to complete the deal.

During the second period of their matchup with the New York Rangers, the Sabres were on the power play when Boyes registered his first goal with the team. Andrej Sekera fired a shot from the blue line which Henrik Lundqvist kicked out to his left side. Paul Gaustad took the rebound and released a blind, between the legs pass across the top of the crease to a waiting Boyes who deposited an off-balanced shot behind Lundqvist for the marker which gave the Sabres a brief 2-1 lead.

Boyes would later say sarcastically of the play, “Goose and I had talked about doing that play during the skate, guess it actually worked.”

With the win, the Sabres were able to keep pace with the Carolina Hurricanes, who also won on the night, but also gained two valuable points on the Rangers. With three games in hand on the Blueshirts and two on the Hurricanes, the Sabres are in control of their own destiny as they’re behind by only three and two points respectively.

The Sabres expect the Boyes to be a critical component of a playoff run, and his durability cannot be understated. Boyes is one of only four players to have played over 400 consecutive games, as hit currently sits at 471 games played.

Next up for the Sabres is a critical matchup versus the Carolina Hurricanes.

If Buffalo can emerge victorious in regulation, they will take over the 8th position in the Eastern Conference standings.