3 players the Buffalo Sabres need to step up in Rasmus Dahlin's absence

The Buffalo Sabres have had a rough start to the season, and for the next few games, they are expected to be without one of their top players in Rasmus Dahlin. On Friday, head coach Lindy Ruff announced that defenseman Rasmus Dahlin will be taking a leave of absence and returning to Sweden to be with his fiancée.

Over the summer, Dahlin's fiancée had a health scare that he talked about before the start of the season. According to Ruff, Dahlin said everything was ok and that he has the full support of the team.

There is no question that there are things bigger than hockey, and fortunately for Dahlin, he can focus on those things. However, for the Sabres, the season continues, and it leaves a major hole in their team that they need to figure out how to address.

They are about to start out on a four-game road trip that begins Saturday night in Carolina, followed by stops against Utah, Colorado, and Detroit. When looking ahead to this stretch of games, these are three players the Sabres need to step up with Dahlin out.

3 Buffalo Sabres who could have expanded roles in Rasmus Dahlin's absence

Bo Byram

The Buffalo Sabres must find a direct replacement for Dahlin's minutes in their defense, and that player is more than likely going to be Bo Byram. He has moved around a bit this season and started the year paired with Dahlin.

However, Mattias Samuelsson has played very well to begin the season and has worked alongside Dahlin recently. For the Sabres, moving Byram back to that top line makes sense and he has had success next to Samuelsson this season in a small sample size. According to MoneyPuck, Samuelsson and Byram have played 18 minutes together and lead the team in xGoals % at 76.5%.

In addition to moving up to the top line, Byram should be the player to replace Dahlin on the Sabres' top power play unit. This certainly won't be an easy task, especially considering the Sabres power play has not looked good as of late after converting only one power play goal in their last 15 chances.

Jacob Bryson

Since Michael Kesselring's return from injury, Jacob Bryson hasn't played much, and the last game he appeared in was October 18th against the Florida Panthers. However, he played only 1:16 after suffering an injury, but he should be available moving forward.

The move of Byram up to the top line gives the Sabres the chance to shuffle all three pairs and move Kesselring up with Owen Power. This was expected to be the pair after the Sabres made the trade with Utah, but injuries changed those plans to this point of the season.

With Kesselring alongside Power, it would free up Connor Timmins to pair with Bryson on the third pair. These three pairs make the most sense for the Sabres as they try to navigate Dahlin's absence on this blue line.

Tage Thompson

The Sabres are not only going to be without their top defenseman, but they are also going to be without their captain. They are going to need a player to step up and be a leader in the locker room to try and fill the void left by Dahlin's absence.

That player certainly could be Tage Thompson, who is off to an ugly start to begin the season. Their top goal-scorer hasn't been making much of an impact as of late. He had three goals in the two games against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but since then has only had one goal in the past six games.

This is an opportunity for Thompson to lead by example, set the tone on the ice with some scoring opportunities (and hopefully goals) that can take some of the pressure off the rest of the team.