Sabres' Reinhart, Eichel suggest benching by Bylsma was excessive

Lesson learned?

Buffalo Sabres forward Sam Reinhart addressed his benching for all 60 minutes of Tuesday's loss to the Blue Jackets, suggesting head coach Dan Bylsma's punishment may not have fit the crime of being five minutes late for a morning meeting.

"It's a coach's decision. It's a management decision. From my perspective, I would have rather battled it out with my teammates," he said Thursday, according to John Vogl of the Buffalo News. "I don't think five minutes in the morning is going to influence my preparation for a game, but it was a team stretch and I should have been there on time."

"He was a couple minutes late for a meeting, and that happens," teammate Jack Eichel said. "Just like anything, you handle it like a professional and move on from it, learn from it. We're obviously not going to hold it over his head here. He really didn't do too much wrong."

Reinhart dressed for the game, but was not granted a single shift by Bylsma.

He's expected to hop back over the boards during Sunday's game against the Islanders.