BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Sabres rookie Zach Benson is listed as week-to-week after aggravating his lower-body injury, general manager Kevyn Adams said Tuesday, while goaltender Devon Levi has resumed practicing after missing the past five games with an injury.
Buffalo called up forward Brandon Biro to replace Benson in the forward lineup. After a strong preseason with the Sabres, the 25-year-old Biro had two goals and four assists in five games for the Rochester Americans.
Levi’s return gives the Sabres a tandem of healthy goalies, along with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonnen, who recorded his first NHL shutout on Sunday. Eric Comrie is on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, and Devin Cooley was reassigned to Rochester after backing up Luukkonnen in the win against the Colorado Avalanche.
Buffalo (4-5-0) visits Philadelphia (4-4-1) on Wednesday night, and continues the home-and-home series Friday night at KeyBank Center.
In four starts this season, the 21-year-old Levi is 1-3-0 with an .892 save percentage and 3.26 goals-against average. Comrie and Luukkonnen combined for a .915 SV% and 2.60 GAA over the past five games.
“I was just taking it day by day, trying it out, seeing when I could get back. Took a few days off the ice, let it heal, and now I’m back. I feel good on the ice,” Levi said. “I’m so happy to be back.”
Benson, the Sabres’ first-round draft pick this year, has averaged 13:17 of ice time with two assists in six games as an 18-year-old, among the youngest skaters to play at the start of a season in franchise history.
“As an 18-year-old player coming into your first NHL season, everything’s a first. Everything is brand new,” coach Don Granato said. “Going to Philadelphia is brand new for him today, which he’ll make the trip with us for that reason—to take things in. You can only take so much in at a time. So, he doesn’t have the responsibility of playing tomorrow night, but he can take in other things that will really help him.”
After a strong preseason with the Sabres, the 25-year-old Biro had two goals and four assists in five games for the Rochester Americans.
“There’s a lot to his game to like,” Granato said. “Very talented player, skilled, evasive, intelligent, slippery—it goes hand in hand with the evasive. He can make plays with skill players. He can play right wing, left wing, center. He’s done well in all three spots. But I think the real exciting thing for me is he complements other players. He’s the type of player you put on the ice and he enhances those around him because of his compete and his intelligence.”
***
Jonah Bronstein joined the WIVB squad in 2022 as a digital sports reporter. The Buffalonian has covered the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Bisons, colleges, high schools and other notable sporting events in Western New York since 2005, for publications including The Associated Press, The Buffalo News, and Niagara Gazette. Read more of his work here.