Sabres stay fresh while awaiting Round 2 opponent

The Buffalo Sabres don’t yet know their second-round opponent, but they do know they’ll be hosting Game 1 on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

With that gap between playoff series, the Sabres have mapped out a plan to recover from their six-game win over Boston while staying ready for the next challenge – the winner of Sunday’s Game 7 between Montreal and Tampa Bay. They took Saturday off before practicing Sunday morning at KeyBank Center.

• Schedule, broadcast info for Round 2

“We just want to stay in the every-other-day type of routine,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “By practicing today, we'll take tomorrow and make sure it's an off-ice, and then get a good practice in the day before we play and be ready to go.

“… After winning and feeling great, it was just good to get back on the ice and get the juices flowing again, and get the hands and the feet trying to work together.”

Forwards Noah Ostlund (lower body) and Sam Carrick (left arm) remained absent and aren’t expected to return for the second round, but everyone else was on the ice Sunday, and Buffalo skated with the same lines from its Game 6 win. Logan Stanley was a full participant after missing the end of the Boston series with illness.

Game 7 in Buffalo, too, would’ve been Sunday. By closing out the Bruins, the Sabres can sit back and watch as they learn their next opponent. The Canadiens and Lightning have played a dead-even series so far, with four games needing overtime and all six decided by one goal.

“I’m sure everyone will watching,” Zach Benson said. “I think it’s gonna be a good game, and it’s exciting times.”

Buffalo faced both teams four times in the regular season, going 3-0-1 versus the Lightning and 2-2-0 versus the Canadiens. Seven of those eight games were nailbiters, the exception being a 6-2 blowout Feb. 28 in Tampa, so the Sabres know they’ll have their hands full regardless of the matchup.

“Obviously, we’re confident versus either team, and both teams are really good hockey teams, going to seven,” Benson continued. “We’re just working on our game right now and trying to get our game into a really good spot.”

Here’s more from the Sabres in the aftermath of the first round.

Airport crowd

A cheering mob of fans greeted the Sabres outside the airport when they landed in Buffalo around 1:30 a.m. Saturday.

“Actually fist-bumped a few, almost separated my shoulder,” Ruff joked. “It was great to see. We know we’ve got great fans, and just another example. They’re playing music, and it wasn’t the warmest night, but they were having a great time.”

“I couldn’t say I’d be getting out of my bed at 1:30 in the morning,” Benson added. “That’s pretty impressive. Obviously means a lot to us.”

Benson and Doan

Buffalo’s third-line wingers made headlines April 8 at Madison Square Garden, where Josh Doan selflessly gifted Benson an empty-net goal to close out a win. Doan set up both Benson goals in Round 1 versus Boston, too, but those took some much tougher plays: a signature offensive-zone steal in Game 4 and a race to a loose puck – followed by a big hit in the corner – in Game 6.

They cycled through Josh Norris and Ostlund as their center, but with Benson and Doan skating together at 5-on-5 in the series, the Sabres outscored the Bruins 4-2 and outshot them 32-17, with a 62-percent share of the expected goals (Natural Stat Trick).

“Our line can be a pain to play against,” Benson said. “… I think Doaner’s so good at picking guys’ pockets that that can be frustrating over six games, or however long you play. It’s never fun to play against guys that compete and battle every shift like our group did all series.”

And Ruff offered some high praise of Benson, who drew eight Boston penalties – and the ire of defenseman Charlie McAvoy with a late slash in Game 6.

“He’s like that insect that won’t go away. You can keep swatting at it, but you just can’t quite get it, and it keeps landing on you,” the coach said. “Benny is on the puck as good as anybody on this team. I think him and Doaner are two of the best.”

Some examples from Round 1:

Doan ranked fourth leaguewide with 46 takeaways in the regular season, and he’s already been credited with five in the playoffs.

Beard check

Advancing to Round 2 means more time for the Sabres’ playoff beards to take shape. Some guys – Jordan Greenway, Alex Tuch, Jason Zucker – are used to facial hair. Others are entering uncharted territory, but Greenway was blunt in his assessment.

“I would say unimpressed, for the most part,” the forward said. “Does anyone have anything even going, kinda?”

Benson, the youngest on the team at 20, looks built for playoff hockey in that regard, too.

“I didn’t even know I could grow this good of a beard,” Benson said. “Not saying it’s good, but yeah, I didn’t know it was possible. Quite impressed with it.”

Practice sound

Up next

Stay tuned to Sabres.com for full coverage – practices, opponent preview, etc. – leading up to Wednesday’s Game 1.

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