TORONTO – By coach Lindy Ruff’s estimation, it happens at least twice each Buffalo Sabres game. Inevitably, heavy winger Beck Malenstyn makes a couple of under-the-radar plays, often paying a price physically.
“Plays guys are looking at that are not plays that get glorified in a game like a goal does,” Ruff said following Monday’s practice in LECOM Harborcenter.
Of course, Malenstyn, having scored four times this season, chips in the occasional goal. In fact, two of them rank among the Sabres’ prettiest.
In Thursday’s 4-2 win in Montreal, he torched a defender down the left wing before cutting to the net and beating Canadiens goalie Samuel Montembeault.
“Guys are just smiling,” Malenstyn said of his teammates’ reaction to his nifty short-handed goal. “Guys love it. I’m obviously not going to complain about it.”
He also scored a highlight-reel goal Nov. 23 by undressing Carolina Hurricanes star Sebastian Aho.
Beck Malenstyn, 2-0 SHG. #LetsGoBuffalo #Sabrehood #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/SUpiXNpZhx
— Buffalo Hockey Moments (@SabresPlays) January 23, 2026
But most of the 6-foot-3, 209-pound Malenstyn’s contributions are what Ruff called “the little plays.”
“Like tracking down icings, the tracking back, the blocked shots,” said Ruff, whose Sabres close their five-game road trip tonight against the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. “Sometimes just getting the puck in deep under duress, he’s done a great job of that, too.”
In the third period of Saturday’s 5-0 win in New York, Malenstyn raced deep into the Islanders zone and absorbed a hit from Scott Mayfield behind the net to keep the puck in opposing territory.
“Every once in a while it’s an opportunity to not just let them go back, flow and attack you with speed when you can stall,” Malenstyn said Monday. “It just helps.”
Then there was Malenstyn’s critical block late in last Tuesday’s 5-3 win in Nashville. With the Sabres up one goal, he got in front of Nicolas Hague’s one-timer from the point.
The puck caught him on the outside of the kneecap – “Kind of hit that nerve there, and your whole leg just kind of goes numb,” he said – and he fell to the ice.
His sacrifice jolted the bench, and Ruff said everyone got on their feet and tapped their sticks.
Malenstyn needed to be helped off the ice, but once he reached the end of the tunnel, he said he began to get feeling back in his leg.
“That type of play is the last play you would show on the video today about winning hockey, about a guy putting it on the line to help preserve the game,” Ruff said Thursday. “He’s done that game in, game out.”
Malenstyn blocked a heavy shot and was down until the whistle blew. Needed help getting off the ice #LetsGoBuffalo #Sabrehood #Preds pic.twitter.com/rRQOEYWYKt
— Buffalo Hockey Moments (@SabresPlays) January 21, 2026
Shortly after Malenstyn’s gutsy block, center Peyton Krebs’ empty-net goal sealed the win over the Predators.
Malenstyn, 27, said much of the Sabres’ recent success – they’ve won three straight games and 18 of their last 22 outings – can be traced to everyone “diving into their roles and taking a lot of pride in it.”
He said when you feel the support from your teammates like he did following his block, “it makes it a little easier to go put yourself in front of those situations.”
“Guys are willing to sacrifice their bodies to be successful,” he said Thursday.
Malenstyn, a regular on the third or fourth lines, has established himself as the Sabres’ most consistent physical presence. Despite averaging just 11 minutes, 16 seconds of ice time per game, he has registered a team-high 180 hits, a gaudy total than ranks fourth in the NHL.
Krebs’ 120 hits rank second on the Sabres.
At his current pace, Malenstyn would record 291 hits over a full season, shattering his career-high 241 he recorded with the Washington Capitals in 2023-24.
Malenstyn began learning the rigors of a gritty, bottom-six role as a teenager with the Western Hockey League’s Calgary Hitmen. He said his coach, Mark French, who won the Calder Cup in the AHL with the Hershey Bears in 2010, ran the junior squad like a pro team.
So while Malenstyn had been a high draft pick in the WHL, he said “younger guys had to earn their ice time, earn their role a little bit.”
“I think it really helped my game,” he said. “It made me appreciate what you had to just to earn being in the lineup.”
When he turned pro, that experience helped him enjoy what he called “a pretty seamless transition.”
“I didn’t have to relearn it,” Malenstyn said.
The same thing happened during his first days in the NHL.
“It was a real easy transition for me again when I got those first call-ups to just kind of be able to clear your mind and play a real simple game that allowed me to be effective at that level, too,” he said. “And it didn’t feel like it was outside my comfort zone.”
I feel bad for Kevyn Adams ….. he takes grief for many years, assembles a team, and the millisecond he is fired, the flower that he created blossoms into a beautiful successful orchid.
Let us all take a step ack and applaud KA for not only making this team talented, we have depth (Kulich is out, Rosen is in beautiful Rochester and we keep winning)
Yes, KA deserves a lot of credit. I agree.
He signed Zucker and Lyon.
He traded Eichel for Tuch, Krebs, and the pick that became Ostlund.
I’ve previously been very tough on Krebs, but he might be the teams most improved player.
Tuch is our best 2-way player, and we can all see how good Ostlund is
Adams traded for Byram. We smoked Colorado in that trade
Adams traded for Doan & Kesselring. I’ll take that trade for Peterka 7 days a week !
He also traded for McLoed, who doesn’t get a lot of hype, but does everything very well.
And he traded a 2nd for Malenstyn, who is the guy that energizes the whole team and the fans with his effort & sacrifice of his body.
Adams traded Cozens for Norris. The team needed a shakeup. Cozens hadn’t done anything in 2 years. Yes, Norris has has some injuries. Their salaries were almost the same. I still prefer Norris.
Adams had very good drafts that didn’t pay off initially. Undersized, maybe…. but, now we are seeing their very obvious skillsets: Ostlund, Benson, Kulich, Helenius.
Adams does deserve a ton of credit IMO, but he had some glaring mistakes.
1. He wasn’t good with the media or contracts.
2. Owen Power is nowhere deserving of the #1 overall pick or his contract. He is so soft. He has no grit whatsoever, for a player 6ft 6in tall. He is a glaring defensive liability and looks lost a lot of the time. Has he EVER dropped the gloves or thrown a punch ? If I was Jarmo, I would trade him before the deadline to St. Louis, along with Rosen & our 1st for Robert Thomas, Colton Parayko, and a 2nd or 3rd.
Parayko is signed through 29-30, and saves us $2 million a year. And his presence is exactly what we need on the defensive end.
If not, If I was Jarmo, I would mandate Power take boxing lessons in the off-season. His soft play can no longer be tolerated.
3. Adams contract to Cozens was ridiculous too. We all saw Cozens the last 2 years he was here. He did nothing. The trade of Cozens did both teams well IMO.
Lastly, Im not sure the players respected Adams, and Im not sure Pegula trusted Adams handing out future contracts.
I recognize Adams for his vision, but I think Jarmo is the right answer for this current team moving forward.
Now, let’s get Tuch extended.
And let’s get a W tonight in Toronto boys.
Great breakdown on KA’s moves and his weaknesses. Agreed 100% on Power, let’s move this turnover machine lummox and make this team even more ready for the postseason. Adams did a lot of good things, some of his seeds were late to blossom. And lets get Lindy some credit in yr 2 the reboot, as guys are finally buying into the hard work, play a full 60 concept & our ascent in the standings signifies that.
Agreed Marty.
Lindy deserves a lot of credit.
I think he is the perfect coach for this Sabres team.
Let’s bring it tonight boys. Toronto is desperate.
Go Sabres !