BUFFALO – Zero goals? Don’t sweat it, kid. Keep doing what you’re doing.
That’s a not a direct quote, but some words that seem to convey Sabres coach Lindy Ruff’s feelings about Zach Benson’s interesting start this season.
Through nine games, Benson, 21, has been one of Ruff’s best players, generating offense, causing chaos around the net and agitating opponents.
The diminutive winger has a spot on the Sabres’ hottest line alongside center Noah Ostlund and Jack Quinn and a four-game point streak entering Wednesday’s contest against the Philadelphia Flyers at KeyBank Center.
“I think I’ve gotten off to a good start,” Benson told the Times Herald following Tuesday’s practice in LECOM Harborcenter. “Obviously, the goal department (is) still at zero, but I feel like I’m creating a lot of havoc and creating plays. I’ve been in on some big goals that have kind of helped our club climb back into games.”
Benson has registered six assists this season, a number that’s tied for the team lead with defenseman Owen Power and ranks first among forwards.
His average ice time – 19 minutes, 52 seconds per game – ranks second among forwards, seven seconds less than center Tage Thompson.
Benson’s 65.37 expected goals for percentage at five-on-five leads the Sabres, according to NaturalStatTrick.com, while his 7.51 expected goals at five-on-five ranks first among forwards and third on the team.
Still, Benson, who has pumped 18 shots on goal and attempted 41, hasn’t scored his first goal.
“It’s just stick with the process,” Ruff said.
The 5-foot-10, 178-pound Benson has experienced an odd stretch like his current one before. Last year, he did not score until his 18th appearance.
Late in the season, he enjoyed a breakout run, registering six of his 13 regular-season goals in the final 13 contests before scoring five times in 13 games during his first taste of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
After the season, Benson signed a seven-year, $52.5 million contract extension.
He is certainly doing enough to score. In the near future, one is bound to go in.
Ruff lauded Benson’s effort almost halfway through Saturday’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Canadiens to beat Noah Dobson to a loose puck deep in the Montreal zone and create Quinn’s short-handed goal at the net.
The goal ignited the Sabres’ third consecutive two-goal comeback and helped them earn a point.
“That line has had a lot of success,” Ruff said. “Mainly the success has been going to Quinn on the goal department, but if a line is producing, usually you’re a big part of it, and I think he has been.”
Since Ruff assembled the line four games ago, the players have combined to score four goals and 15 points. Benson has recorded five assists. Quinn, meanwhile, has registered three goals and seven points.
Speed and an ability to outwork opponents, Ruff explained, has buoyed the trio.
“They’re hitting the holes, supporting each other,” he said. “Their transition game has been real quick. They’re quick to get open. They’re just a line that’s really connected right now where they know where they’re at.
“They’ve won a lot of battles, which is a big deal, and (they) jump in the holes in the offensive zone, which makes it really tough on the opposition.”
Finding those soft spots illustrates the smarts Benson and his linemates possess.
“I think it’s just our hockey IQ,” Benson said of what has made them mesh. “I mean, I think all of us are super smart players that find spots where coverage isn’t, and we’re all skilled enough to make plays.”