Huselius In, Torres Out
November 13th, 2009 | by sweetbob |
The good news is that Kristian Huselius is back from injury, the bad news, Raffi Torres is out indefinitely with a jaw injury. They miss the offense that Huselius gives them, but without Torres, Columbus isn’t as explosive. Can the Blue Jackets bounce back with a win against Anaheim tonight?
Huselius was one of my Blue Jackets Of The Month for the month of October. His ability to get the puck in the net is what Columbus missed against Detroit. He just takes the best possible shot when he attempts. He knows when to pass and when to take the shot, that ability alone is lost in some players. He has 9 points on the year in 14 games, with a +/- at even. He’s a very important piece in what the Blue Jackets want to do on the ice.
Raffi Torres is just as important to Columbus as Huselius. He’s a late-game energy guy that always seems to have a late-goal up his sleeve. He makes the 3rd line a much better scoring line, without him, they might be stuck putting an inexperienced forward in the lineup. Nikita Filatov could end up getting more ice time because of the injury, but at this point in his career, I’d rather have Torres in that line.
The injury that Torres suffered sounded pretty painful. He could be out a couple weeks because he was hit in the face with a puck. It crushed the area that connects his teeth to his maxilla. If he comes back sooner than that, he might use a face guard to allow that area to heal and help protect his face from re-injuring that area again.
The Blue Jackets face the Ducks tonight, unless they whip out a “knucklepuck,” I think Columbus shows up to play and wins tonight.
