Sabres Fall in Shootout to Canadiens With Rasmus Dahlin Sidelined

The Buffalo Sabres played without captain Rasmus Dahlin on Tuesday night, falling 4-3 in a shootout to the Montreal Canadiens. Dahlin, who is currently considered day-to-day, remained in Buffalo to undergo treatment for an upper-body injury while the team began a brief road trip.

The injury occurred during the second period of Monday’s 5-3 win over the Florida Panthers. Dahlin appeared to sustain the ailment while following through on a slap shot attempt from the slot. Although he completed that game, the quick turnaround for the Tuesday matchup in Montreal proved too short for a return to the lineup.

Buffalo was forced to reshuffle its defensive pairings due to several injuries.

The absence of the team’s top defenseman forced a significant reshuffling of the Sabres’ blue line. On Tuesday, the club officially placed defenseman Matt Grzelcyk on injured reserve, retroactive to Oct. 1, and recalled Dennis Gilbert from the AHL’s Rochester Americans to provide immediate depth. This followed a Monday trade in which Buffalo acquired defensemen Caleb Jones and Daniel Laatsch from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Ryan Johnson.

Despite the defensive vacancies, Buffalo managed to push Montreal into a shootout before ultimately losing. The Sabres relied on a defensive rotation that included recent acquisitions as they sought to mitigate the loss of Dahlin’s 25-plus minutes of nightly ice time. The team’s ability to suppress high-danger chances was tested throughout the night, particularly during Montreal’s late-game pushes.

Head coach Lindy Ruff has not ruled Dahlin out for the remainder of the week. While the defenseman did not travel with the team to Montreal, reporting suggests he could potentially rejoin the roster in time for Thursday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. His status will likely depend on his participation in morning skate sessions leading up to that divisional matchup.

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