Ruff praised Benson for battling a lower-body injury as the Sabers were in Prague earlier this month, but the coach told the 19-year-old winger that it was time to sit out at least one game to get more time for healing.

Jordan Greenway was ready to return to the lineup, and top prospect Jiri Kulich had played well on the Sabers' second line with Dylan Cozens and Jack Quinn. The team doesn't play again until Saturday afternoon against the Detroit Red Wings, a rare opportunity on the schedule to give a player slowed by a minor injury a break.

“Zach’s still not right,” Ruff told reporters before the Sabers’ game against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night. “He has been taking care of it since Prague and watching his game. I had a long conversation with him this morning and I really feel, and now he feels the same way, that he's affected by what he's dealing with and that's the best thing we're giving him today. We have four days to see if we can move him to a better place where it won't affect his game.

“I give him a lot of credit for trying to play, but it definitely affected his game. We have to get it right.”

Entering his second season in the NHL, Benson has no points with a minus-4 rating and just eight shots on goal in six games. His ice time has been less than 15 minutes in each of the last four games. Benson skated with the Sabres' second power-play unit during Monday's practice at LECOM Harborcenter, but Peyton Krebs took over that spot during Tuesday's morning skate.

On Tuesday, however, the Sabers received a surprising amount of good news on the injury front. Winger Nicolas Aube-Kubel, one of the team's free-agent signings in July, skated with the team for the first time since suffering a second-degree knee sprain in the season-opening loss to the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 4 in Prague . The injury occurred when Aube-Kubel's skate got caught on a skate belonging to Devils defenseman Jonathan Kovacevic as the Sabers forward missed a check in the second period.

Aube-Kubel is getting used to the brace he has to wear – former Sabers goaltender Eric Comrie, now with the Winnipeg Jets, had to do the same after injuring his knee in the 2022-23 season – but the winger The fourth row is still in use The route should return at the early end of the three to six week schedule given to him after the MRI scan.

Ruff told reporters that Aube-Kubel should be available sometime next week if he is not ready to return Saturday against the Red Wings. Buffalo hosts the Florida Panthers on Monday and the New York Islanders on November 1st before facing Detroit again on the road on November 2nd.

“Hopefully this injury doesn’t slow me down a little,” said Aube-Kubel. “So I need to take the time to get back to 100% and, yes, shoot for Saturday or next week.”

Neither of the Sabres' minor league affiliates, the AHL's Rochester Americans (0 of 21) and the ECHL's Jacksonville Icemen (0 of 2), have scored a power play goal this season.

The Amerks (1-3), who host the Cleveland Monsters on Wednesday night, have conceded at least one goal from seven different players so far. Konsta Helenius, the Sabres' first-round pick in June, scored his first professional goal in North America on Friday against Toronto, and winger Viktor Neuchev leads the team with four points.

Noah Ostlund, a first-round draft pick in 2022, hasn't recorded a point in four games but has been the Amerks' most consistent forward in terms of effort and attention to detail. He has had 11 shots on goal in four games.

Felix Sandstrom, who the Sabers signed as their No. 4 goalie, has struggled in his two starts, posting an .865 save percentage and 3.60 goals-against average.

Prokhor Poltapov, a second-round draft pick in 2021, continues to have a significant impact for CSKA in the Continental Hockey League. The 21-year-old winger has scored six goals and 15 points while averaging 14:01 of ice time in 18 games. His club in Russia doesn't use him on the power play, but he has scored two short-handed goals on penalties and is second to CSKA with 39 shots on goal.

The Sabers can sign Poltapov to an entry-level contract as early as the spring when his current contract with CSKA expires.