The Buffalo Sabres came up short against the battle-tested Florida Panthers on Monday night, but how they respond is far more important than a single result.
Buffalo has still won 13 of its past 15 games to surge up the Eastern Conference standings. The Blue and Gold also remain in a playoff position, the East's second wild-card spot, despite losing to a Panthers squad fighting to get back above the postseason cut line.
Sabres winger Zach Benson, 20, struck a wise-beyond-his-years tone after the game while discussing how the pressure of a playoff race is a privilege.
"This is the game you want to run into," Benson told reporters. "It's the hockey you want to play and it's what you really dream of is playing competitive hockey every night at the highest level."
In the past, the Sabres tended to crumble at the first sign of resistance, which is why the franchise owns the longest playoff drought in NHL history at 14 years. This season's group has appeared more resilient so far, but there's a lot of work ahead.
Buffalo head coach Lindy Ruff, who coached his 1,900th regular-season game on Monday, noted the Blue and Gold got a taste of their own medicine from the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions.
"That's the desperation," Ruff said. "I mean, we've seen the frustration we put into other teams with the shot blocking and sticks and getting in lanes. We just — we have to be a little bit better."
A busy, hurdle-filled schedule is on the horizon for the Sabres leading up to the NHL's Olympic break in February, so there's certainly no time for a letdown.
Zach Benson makes his case for a bigger role after instant success on the Buffalo Sabres' first line
Ruff is an old-school coach. He tries to limit the number of lineup changes when things are going well, which is why Jason Zucker remained in the press box for a few extra games after recovering from a recent injury.
It's also why he stuck with Peyton Krebs on the top line for an extended stretch despite it becoming obvious the forward's longstanding offensive shortcomings were a problem.
Finally, with the Sabres struggling to generate consistent chances against the Panthers on Monday, Ruff swapped Benson into that key role alongside Tage Thompson and Josh Doan. The gritty winger almost instantly rewarded the coach's faith with a second-period goal.
New Buffalo general manager Jarmo Kekalainen will ideally be able to land a high-scoring winger before the NHL trade deadline in early March, but for the moment the roster is essentially one top-nine forward short with Jiri Kulich sidelined by a blood clot.
In turn, the Blue and Gold have been forced to push a fourth-line player, usually Krebs or Jordan Greenway, into a more prominent role. The results have been predictably underwhelming, though Krebs did produce more positive moments than Greenway.
Benson makes far more sense as first-liner than either of those players, though. Here's a look at the Sabres' optimal forward group until Kulich returns or a marquee addition arrives:
- Zach Benson — Tage Thompson — Josh Doan
- Noah Ostlund — Josh Norris — Alex Tuch
- Jason Zucker — Ryan McLeod — Jack Quinn
- Peyton Krebs — Josh Dunne — Beck Malenstyn
Playing Thompson and Doan, the Sabres' best two forwards this season, would also give Benson the best opportunity to unlock his offensive potential.
The 2023 first-round draft pick has recorded 20 points (five goals and 15 assists) in 31 appearances this season, which puts him on pace to establish a new career-high total, but it feels like there's still more for him to give in the attacking zone.
Regardless of whether he's lighting up the scoreboard, the 5-foot-10 Canadian is always one of the hardest working players on the ice and his smaller frame never prevents him from relentlessly battling much larger opponents in the most dangerous areas.
Rewarding that effort from Benson is Ruff's best option while Kekalainen works the phones on the NHL trade market.