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Buffalo Sabres: Is Rasmus Dahlin playing tonight vs. Canadiens?

By Sion Fawkes

Dec 5, 2023; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin (26) goes after a loose puck behind the net as Detroit Red Wings center Robby Fabbri (14) defends during the third period at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 5, 2023; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin (26) goes after a loose puck behind the net as Detroit Red Wings center Robby Fabbri (14) defends during the third period at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports /
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Buffalo Sabres star defenseman Rasmus Dahlin was unable to play against the Boston Bruins, so will he be raring to go tonight?

Rasmus Dahlin is one of the Buffalo Sabres most important players, given his ability to score and serve as the primary quarterback on the power play. Despite the Sabres upset win over the Boston Bruins on Thursday, the power play didn’t generate as many opportunities as we would have liked, which further shows us just how valuable Dahlin is on the unit.

But with a nagging lower-body injury, one can only play through it for so long before they’ll need to sit out, and unfortunately, that was the case with Dahlin against Boston. Tonight, however, he will be ready to roll. Here is what Paul Hamilton had to say about the situation on Audacy:

"“The Buffalo Sabres defenseman went through the morning skate on Saturday and practiced on the first power play unit. Head coach Don Granato confirmed after the skate that Dahlin is playing, and rookie Ryan Johnson will be the healthy scratch.”"

Source: Rasmus Dahlin returns Saturday to play Canadiens

The returning Rasmus Dahlin has been an impact player for the Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres played a great game on Thursday without Dahlin, but now that the star defenseman rested his injury, he should be more than ready to roll tonight vs. Montreal. Dahlin has once again been effective offensively, scoring 21 points and six goals in 26 contests, putting him on pace for 65 points and between 18 and 19 goals. Should Dahlin continue on this pace, he will set a career-high in the latter.

But he’s also once again been a force defensively, with 48 blocks and 47 hits, meaning he could wind up threatening 150 in both categories should he stay healthy and keep playing his game from here on out. No, his possession metrics won’t wow you, but given the aforementioned numbers, it’s clear Dahlin is well on his way to his best season yet.

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Overall, having Dahlin back in the lineup will only help the Buffalo Sabres as they once again look to snag back-to-back wins for just the second time this season. However, the Blue and Gold remain shorthanded with Jordan Greenway, Alex Tuch, and Zemgus Girgensons still slated to miss time.

(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)

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