Ruff thinks Benson knows what he's doing with his game

Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - After having Saturday off the Buffalo Sabres got back to work on Sunday.

Lindy Ruff said he doesn’t expect to have Sam Carrick or Noah Ostlund ready to play in this series.

Zach Benson is quickly becoming the most hated player in the NHL. Charlie McAvoy will surely miss the beginning of next season thanks to him swinging his sticking a striking Benson in the head after the Sabres winger slew footed him to the ice.

Ruff said even though Benson is only 20-years-old, he really doesn’t have to teach him how to get under the skin of the opponent,

“He’s pretty damn good at it, I don’t think I need to give him any guidance. I think the guidance over these couple of years has been not crossing the line, and not taking foolish penalties. I think there was a point last year where he took unnecessary penalties and I think he’s realized that there’s been times he’s hurt the team and now he’s got that part of his game in a real good place.

“He’s drawing penalties, he’s using his speed, he’s been irritating people because of how hard he’s been playing and when he has the puck he’s a tough guy to get it away from too.”

What is it that Benson does that makes players hate him? Ruff said,

“I think the biggest thing is he’s just on the puck all the time, he’s like that insect that won’t go away, you can keep swatting at it, but you just can’t quite get it.

“‘Bennie’ is on the puck as good as anybody on this team. I think him and Doan are two of the best and I think sometimes that can be really irritating to an opponent and the fact he is the first guy to get to net front and I think that alone irritates a lot of the opposition.”

As far as what McAvoy did to him, Benson said,

“Obviously you don’t want to be slashed, I was just playing to the last whistle and it happens in the game of hockey and you move on.”

Benson pretty much said don’t give him too much credit for being a pest. He wants to credit others,

“I think our line can be a pain to play against and nothing to do with chirping or anything, it just comes down to battle, compete and I think ‘Doaner’s’ so good at picking guys pockets that can be frustrating over six games and it’s never fun to play against guys that compete and battle every shift like our group did all series.”

Benson needed some time to get his offense going because he came into the NHL at 18. The offense has finally started to come as he has two goals in six playoff games and in his last 36 games in the regular season he netted nine goals and 17 assists for 26 points. Benson said,

“I don’t know if it was something that clicked, but it’s been fun playing with different linemates and we have a lot of elite players in this room, so the more success the team has, the more personal success guys within the team have.”

Alex Lyon has been on a roll in the playoffs. He’s 3-1 with a 1.14 goals against and .955 save percentage which is second in the playoffs to Freddie Andersen of the Carolina Hurricanes. Lyon now has to go from Friday until Wednesday without playing a game, but he’s not at all worried about losing his momentum,

“It think it’s good for everybody, a physical reset and an emotional reset, probably more importantly mentally.

“When you’re in the series it’s hard to see from a third party perspective, but now we can just take a deep breath and get our bearings about us again.”

Lyon of course is going to watch Game 7 on Sunday because the Sabres play the winner between the Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning, but the goalie has no preference,

“No, honestly I think we’re at our best when we’re focused on ourselves and if we do the right things, and come in with the right mentality, and the right mindset, that’s all we can control.”

The road team has won 55.6% of the games so far in these playoffs. That would favor Montreal which is 2-1 in this series so far in Tampa.

Ruff wants to continue every other day on the ice, so he’s going to keep them off the ice on Monday and then have them practice on Tuesday.