BUFFALO – Through eight games, no Sabres forward has played less than Beck Malenstyn. The newcomer has eclipsed the 10-minute mark just twice. In one contest, he skated only 1 minute, 52 seconds over three shifts.
Still, Malenstyn, a physical fourth-line winger the Sabres valued so highly they traded a second-round pick to acquire him, makes use of his limited action.
Despite averaging just 8 minutes, 28 seconds per outing, he has recorded a team-high 23 hits, the 15th-highest total in the NHL entering Wednesday’s games. He scored his first goal this season in Saturday’s 4-2 road win over the Chicago Blackhawks, deflecting in defenseman Connor Clifton’s shot at the net.
Throughout that night, Malenstyn, 26, and his linemates, center Peyton Krebs and Sam Lafferty, earned duty shadowing budding superstar Connor Bedard’s line.
“The responsibility of our line having that, getting to play against their top players was great,” Malenstyn said prior to registering an assist in Tuesday’s 4-2 win over the Dallas Stars in KeyBank Center. “It really locks you in mentally for a great challenge.”
The 6-foot-3, 209-pound Malenstyn has embraced what he called the “mental challenge” of playing limited minutes on the Sabres’ revamped fourth line.
Last season, he averaged 14 minutes, 15 seconds of ice time per game with the Washington Capitals. Naturally, when shifts are few and far between, he tries to stay mentally involved on the bench with his teammates and focused on the game.
“Being vocal on the bench, just staying engaged in that atmosphere, it allows you to, whenever you get that next opportunity to hop out, still feel like you’re involved in it,” he said. “Whereas if you sit stagnant for too long and you just kind of mentally check out, it gets really hard to go back out there and be effective.”
In the Sabres’ 5-2 win over the Florida Panthers on Oct. 12, he had two shifts in the first period and one in the third. After leaving the ice 9:26 into the game, he did not touch it again until 5:41 into the third period.
“In those scenarios, it’s pretty easy to overdo it because you’ve been thinking about it so much, you’ve been sitting there and you want to be impactful,” Malenstyn said. “Yeah, I think the biggest thing for me there was you’re just going over the boards and you want to play simple, you want to play hard and play smart. When you do that in any shift, whether you’re playing 25 minutes a night or five minutes a night, it allows you to start with the basics and then you’re going to get yourself opportunities from there.”
Malenstyn prides himself on the consistency – “The biggest thing I’ve tried to nail down in my game,” he said – he gives the Sabres.
“I want to be able to give you the same type of game,” he said.
That game, of course, is a heavy one. So far, Malenstyn has registered at least one hit in each outing. On Tuesday, he crunched former Sabres defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin into the boards.
When Malenstyn is utilized a bit differently like he was Saturday, he and his linemates try to stick to what works. The Sabres overhauled their fourth line during the summer to make it heavier and more difficult to play against.
“That line has an identity,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “He knows his role is to get in, get in hard (on the forecheck). … There’s no guessing in his game. He goes through people. I think when you’re physically that size, you have a little advantage when it comes to winning some of those battles. … But he understands what his role is and what is needed from him.”
Malenstyn said the fourth line, which was scored against once by another line Saturday, played a “connected” game.
“Which is the biggest thing,” he said. “I think it’s a brand of hockey that can be pretty simple and maybe not the most entertaining at times, but when three guys are connected with it, I think it really allows you to suffocate defensemen on the forecheck, and then on the flip side of it you get more offensive zone time and can create some offense out of it.”
Clifton’s shot ping pongs around and goes off Malenstyn and in, 2-0 #sabrehood #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/TZOEPmumhO
— Buffalo Hockey Moments (@SabresPlays) October 20, 2024
I like his game.
Skates well.
Hits
Forechecks