On Monday night, the Buffalo Sabres were able to find a way to win against the Florida Panthers after falling behind 2-0 early in the first period. One of the reasons they were able to come back and get the win was Zach Benson, but it is unclear if he will be able to play tomorrow night against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Benson, in the third period, took a hard crash into the boards after tripping over Sergei Bobrovsky's glove. He remained on the ice and didn't get up until trainers came out to see him. It was clear that he suffered either a shoulder or arm injury from the way he went into the boards.
Surprisingly, Benson did return to the ice later in the period but wasn't out very long before clearly deciding he wouldn't be able to continue. After the game, Lindy Ruff did confirm that it was an upper-body injury and he is being evaluated, according to Rachel Lenzi with The Buffalo News.
This certainly would be a big loss for the Buffalo Sabres, as Benson has recently been playing on the top line next to Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch. He has been making a big impact and even added a goal earlier in this game against the Panthers.
On the season, Benson now has seven goals and 19 assists through 42 games.
Who could the Buffalo Sabres move into Zach Benson's spot on the top line?
If Benson is not able to play tomorrow night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and this is likely going to be the case, the Sabres' coaching staff will need to figure out how to shuffle their lines to replace Benson.
The options probably come down to two players: Josh Doan and Peyton Krebs. Both players have seen time on the top line with Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch, but on Monday night, it was Krebs who was moved up onto that line after Benson's injury.
It will be interesting to see if that change was just made on the fly for this game or could be a signal for what they do moving forward, as long as Benson is out. If Benson does miss time, and Krebs is moved up to the top line, then Konsta Helenius probably returns to the lineup, as he was a healthy scratch for this game.
The Sabres should have more information tomorrow if they have a morning skate before their game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.