Is Zach Benson playing tonight against Columbus Blue Jackets? | 4th October | 2023 NHL Preseason

Zach Benson will be in the lineup for the Buffalo Sabres tonight. The Sabres will face the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena in Buffalo's second-last preseason game of the season.

One of the standouts for the Sabres in the preseason has been Zach Benson who was drafted 13th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft. When he was drafted, it was expected that Benson would return to the WHL for the upcoming season, but the Canadian has been impressive so far.

Benson has been playing on a line with Tage Thompson and Jeff Skinner in the preseason and has looked like an NHL player. The 18-year-old also scored the game-winning goal against Columbus on Saturday.

Following the win, Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato had nothing but praise for the prospect, according to Michael Augello of The Hockey News:

"(Benson) can strip pucks and steal pucks as good as anybody in the short time watching him," he said. "That was his (modus operandi) prior to the draft. He's shown to be very, very smart and elusive. I think he's one of those guys if he's 5'11" or 6', he's easier to grab but he could sneak in between coverage areas and he takes advantage of the size he is extremely well."

Zach Benson, meanwhile, knows he has made a good impression and spoke to the media and made it clear he wants to play in the NHL this season.

“Your dream and goal is to play in the NHL. I know my job right now is just to keep pushing, keep playing my best. That’s kind of my thing, just keep getting better,” he said.

Zach Benson still playing for the Sabres in the second last preseason game is a good sign. With that, Buffalo will have to make a hard decision on whether to send him back to junior or keep him in the NHL.

Buffalo Sabres looking to snap playoff drought

The Buffalo Sabres are set to open the 2023-24 NHL season on Oct. 12 at home against the New York Rangers.

Buffalo will have its first road game of the season in the next game on Oct. 14 against the New York Islanders.

The Sabres are currently -120 to make the playoffs, which is an implied probability of 54.5%. Buffalo currently has the longest playoff drought in the NHL at 12 seasons, as the Sabres haven't been in the post-season since the 2010-11 season.