Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres got some good news at Friday’s morning skate, as winger Zach Benson flew to Florida and practiced with his teammates. However, he did stay later in practice for the extra work with the scratches.
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff has not ruled out the possibility, though, of Benson playing either Friday or Saturday night.
Benson missed a pair of games due to an upper-body injury before the Olympic break, and then missed Wednesday's game in New Jersey with, what he called, a "viral thing." Benson admits it’s been hard not being able to play.
"It’s unfortunate," he said following the morning skate. "I would’ve loved to have played in New Jersey and start off after the break, but stuff comes up and you’ve got to deal with it. But I’ve been skating for awhile, so I feel pretty good. I’ve kept in shape."
Ruff had told reporters that Benson’s original injury was different from the second ailment.
"It was off the ice," Benson said. "I just had to get over it and start feeling better."
This is the first time in Benson’s young NHL career he’s been in a playoff race. Already being an intense player on the ice, he's even more fired up to be around the rink and with his teammates.
"This is what you live for," Benson said. "It’s what you think about, and to do it, with this group especially, is so much fun. It's going to be a blast."
Alex Lyon had his own net for practice, which means he’ll get the start against the Florida Panthers on Friday. Lyon was in goal for Buffalo’s 5-3 win in Sunrise back on Feb. 2.
Lyon has won 11-of-13 games, but he’s also lost two of his last three starts.
Ruff indicated Friday he’s likely to go back to alternating Lyon and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for the near future.
Buffalo broke their two-game losing streak by coming out of the break and beating the New Jersey Devils, 2-1. Linemates Tage Thompson and Peyton Krebs both had a goal and an assist in that game.
Thompson has points in nine out of 10 games, scoring six goals and five assists for 11 points.
In his last 12 games, Krebs has five goals and six assists for 11 points.
If the Sabres win on Friday, they’ll be back tied with the Detroit Red Wings in the Atlantic Division standings with a points percentage of .627. Buffalo would be in third place, though, because they own the tie-breaker over Detroit.
Montreal is currently in second place at .629.
Florida played at home Thursday, whipping the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-1. The Panthers have won two out of three games, but they also only have two victories in seven.
Florida is 12th in the Eastern Conference with a points percentage of .543.
As I mentioned earlier, Buffalo has won the only game in Sunrise this season, and they split two games in Buffalo. The Sabres won 3-0 in October, and the Panthers won 4-3 in January.
Lyon was in goal for both the wins.
Tune in during "Schopp and the Bulldog" for pregame at 6 p.m. when you’ll hear from Ruff, Krebs and Benson.
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