Brad Marchand sees a little of himself in Zach Benson. The two-time Stanley Cup champion said the Buffalo Sabres winger plays a similar style and that the 21-year-old has already shown he belongs in the spotlight.
"Yes he does [play a similar style], for sure," Marchand said. "I love his game. He's not timid at all, goes to the dirty areas, he's very competitive, skilled little player and loves to stir it up. He's showing right now he's a gamer too! Very impressive with how young he is as well." He added that Benson "is going to have a long career."
The praise lands at a sharp moment for Buffalo. The Sabres and the Montreal Canadiens are tied at two wins apiece, with Game 5 set for Thursday night at KeyBank Center in downtown Buffalo. For Benson, it is another chance to add to a postseason that has already put him at the center of the series.
Benson has seven points in 10 playoff appearances, with four goals and three assists, and has been described as Buffalo's best player in the playoffs. The No. 13 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft has kept that momentum going well beyond the spring. In the 2025-26 regular season, he posted 13 goals, 30 assists and a plus-27 rating across 65 games.
That steady rise has given the Sabres a young forward who has handled pressure in more than one round. The source said Benson has been effective in the playoffs against the Bruins in the opening round and against the Canadiens in Round 2, a sign that his game has translated when the pace tightens and the checks get heavier.
Marchand's comments say as much about Benson as they do about the kind of player he is becoming. Buffalo does not need a long scouting report to know what it has in him now. It has a winger who can score, agitate and stay in the fight, and a Game 5 at home that will show whether he can keep dragging that edge into the series' biggest night yet.
Match Canadien En Direct: Zach Benson guide les Sabres avant le match 5
