Torres' arrival shakes up Sabres' lines

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- For coach Lindy Ruff, it's too much to expect the addition of forward Raffi Torres to shake the Buffalo Sabres out of their slump.

Though Torres' combination of grit and offensive punch will help, Ruff put the responsibility on the Sabres veteran core players to turn around a team that's gone 1-6-2 in its past nine games.

A day after being acquired in a trade with Columbus, Torres joined his new teammates for practice Thursday as Ruff reshuffled his top two lines. Torres, an eight-year NHL veteran, skated alongside Derek Roy and Jason Pominville. Slumping winger Thomas Vanek was united with Drew Stafford and center Tim Connolly, the team's top setup man.

Buffalo, coming off a 3-1 loss to Washington, hosts Philadelphia on Friday.