Benson Practices, Available For Start Of Homestand

The Buffalo Sabres practiced at KeyBank Center on Tuesday for the second straight day, in advance of the beginning of their four-game homestand against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday. After sitting out for some maintenance on Monday, winger Zach Benson skating by himself and joined the club for the 45-minute long workout, taking the spot of Jiri Kulich.

Head coach Lindy Ruff provided updates on Benson and the status of other Sabres players:

"(Things)went  well  for  Benson. (He) stayed  out  for  practice.  Had  a  good  day.  He'll  be  available  to  play." 

On Conor Timmins, who Ruff said may have had a little setback during his weekly appearance on WGR 550 Tuesday morning:

“A little bit of a false alarm, he felt better this morning. It wasn’t good when he left yesterday, but when he got back, it felt good and he participated in practice.”  

He said that the timetable for his return is “fairly soon.”

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"I'm  going  to  wait  to  manage  it  once  I  get  there. W e're  probably  days  away  from  when  he  gets  there,. It 's really  been  our  strength.  If  you  look  back  last  year,  it seemed  like  as  soon  as  somebody  was  getting  healthy,  somebody  else  got  a  little  bit  banged  up,  and  towards  the  end  of  the  year,  we  ended  up  at  three.  But  we  know  that  all  three  guys  can  help  us  win  hockey  games,  and  I  think  we've  seen  around  the  league,  where  you  lose  a  goaltender  and  you  start  searching  for  one.  Having  that  extra  guy  is  really  valuable.”

Ruff indicated that Jiri Kulich is close to being available after getting out of concussion protocol.

"(We're) going  to  just  see  how  he  handled  today,  yesterday.  I  thought  yesterday  was  an  okay  day  for  him.  I  think  he's  still  got  a  little  catching  up  to  do,  but  we'll  make  that  decision.  He  could  be  an  option,  though,  for  sure.”

Colten Ellis was in the starter’s net for practice, which could mean that he will get the starts against the Sens, who are two points ahead of Buffalo in the Atlantic Division standings.

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