Benson missed the first three games with an infection of a facial cut and suffered a lower body injury in late October. The 20-year-old had eight assists in eight games before missing the last three weeks, and was seen walking with a protective boot as recently as Monday, but according to Ruff he is close to being ready to return.

The Sabres are coming off a 5-1 drubbing of the Oilers Monday night at home, their second straight win. While Buffalo is 1-5-2 on the road, they improved to 6-3-2 at the Keybank Center. Noah Ostlund opened the scoring in the first period - his first of two on the night - before Jack Roslovic tied things up in the second period for Edmonton.

The Buffalo Sabres sit last in the Eastern Conference, but they have plenty of reasons to be confident as they prepare to host the Calgary Flames on Wednesday.

The Buffalo Sabres host the Calgary Flames after Noah Ostlund's two-goal game against the Edmonton Oilers in the Sabres' 5-1 win.

TODAY'S GAMEThe Rangers play their 20th game of the 2020-21 season and their third consecutive home game today, Mar. 2, against the Buffalo Sabres at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m. ET - TV: MSG+, Radio: ESPN 1050 AM).

Sabres rookies Noah Ostlund and goaltender Colten Ellis outshined Edmonton Oilers stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in a 5-1 victory on Monday night at KeyBank Center.

In each of the last two games, Sabres center Tage Thompson has confidently freewheeled through the neutral zone and carried the puck with authority into enemy territory. In Saturday’s 5-4 overtime win,

Elmira’s John Beecher will return to action for his new NHL team Wednesday night. Beecher, who was claimed by the Calgary Flames Tuesday 24 hours after being released

Despite clawing back from an early 2-0 deficit and coming close to making it a 4-4 game late in regulation, the Sabres ultimately succumbed to the inevitable in falling to the first-place Avalanche. Whatever positives the Sabres can take from this game will be outweighed by the already grim outlook for their season.

The Buffalo Sabres' modest win streak has taken off some heat on them, but make no mistake -- there's going to be high-stakes pressure all season long.