Buffalo Sabres 75 Bold Predictions for 2023-24: Prediction 72
By Sion Fawkes
We are just three days and four more bold predictions away from the Buffalo Sabres games counting when they square off vs. the New York Rangers.
With just three days to go before the Buffalo Sabres kick off their 2023-24 regular season vs. New York Rangers, the time has come to get ultra-bold. And while it would have been great to talk about Rasmus Dahlin in light of recent events, I have more than tapped out on him across this 75 In 75 Series when it comes to talking about what year he’s going to have – from a bold prediction standpoint, that is.
However, in my 3 bold predictions for Week 1 piece, I also stated Dahlin would be stellar vs. the Rangers and against the New York Islanders. So let’s build on that prediction not just for the first week, but for the first four weeks of the season, where he will show the NHL world he’s more than worthy of his new contract.
Rasmus Dahlin takes over in first quarter of the Buffalo Sabres 2023-24 season
In the 2023-24 season’s first quarter, or roughly 21 games, we won’t just see him light up the scoreboard more than he did last season. As a two-way player, Dahlin will also give us 35 hits, 40 blocks, and 15 takeaways, which would average to roughly 140 hits, 160 blocks, and 60 takeaways for the season if he keeps up his pace.
While this series is all about making predictions that test reality, they’re not the boldest. It’s worth noting that Dahlin had 105 hits, 132 blocks, and 45 takeaways. While he had fewer hits last season than he did in 2021-22, Dahlin also had 41 more blocks and 18 more takeaways, so this projection is a little more realistic.
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Regardless, the 23-year-old will be one of the early-season frontrunners for the Norris Trophy thanks to such strong performances, and barring injury, he will ride that into the final three quarters of the season. Today brought a lot of optimism to the Buffalo Sabres, and it’s a done deal that Dahlin will follow through.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)