Buffalo Sabres rising star showing signs of monster breakout season

Rasmus Dahlin suffered an upper-body injury midway through Monday's 5-3 victory over the Florida Panthers. The Buffalo Sabres are initially calling their captain day-to-day and, for the first time in the superstar's career, his team may have a suitable short-term replacement.

Owen Power.

It's been an up-and-down development journey for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. It doesn't help that his high-IQ, low-frills play style doesn't yield a ton of highlight-reel moments, which meant some of his defensive miscues became overexaggerated during his slow rise.

A switch seemed to flip for Power during the latter stages of the 2025-26 season, however, and he was one of the Sabres' best players during their run to the second round of the playoffs.

The 23-year-old Canadian defenseman has parlayed that into a terrific start to the new campaign. He's flashed a new level of confidence en route to scoring seven points (one goal and six assists) in the team's first six games (3-3-0).

Power skated over 26 minutes in Monday's win against the Panthers, including extensive work on both the power play and penalty kill after Dahlin's departure. He didn't look out of place in that critical multifaceted role, posting two helpers and a plus-three rating.

The 6-foot-6 University of Michigan product has been a model of consistency at a time when Buffalo is working through some early-season issues and injuries. It's an uptick in performance that's come despite a rotating cast of playing partners so far, too.

Yes, he's enjoyed some strong stretches in the past, but this feels different. His shift-to-shift impact has risen considerably, and he's all but eliminated the head-scratching defensive mistakes that were common during his first few NHL seasons.

Make no mistake, the Sabres would struggle to overcome any type of long-term absence by Dahlin, a Norris Trophy finalist last season. It's nearly impossible to replace one of the league's best players when the timetable extends beyond a few games.

It sounds like Buffalo avoided that type of monumental setback, though. And Power appears ready to handle the top spot on the defensive depth chart for a bit.

It's another sign his breakthrough year may have finally arrived.

Meanwhile, let's check out the latest edition of our Sabres player grades series after a much-needed triumph over an Atlantic Division rival.

Buffalo Sabres earn crucial win over the Florida Panthers

Sabres Player Grades

Buffalo Player of the Game: Owen Power

The biggest difference for Power since late in 2025-26 is the lack of panic in the defensive zone. He understands his assignments, has started doing a better job boxing out in front of the net and gets his head up quickly for transition passing opportunities.

He's never going to become a 200-hit player, which is always going to frustrate old-school hockey minds who see his mammoth frame and wonder we why doesn't throw his weight around. The left-shot blueliner doesn't have that "punisher" mentality.

Power has started to illustrate his path to high-end success without that approach, though. Sure, it took a little bit longer than the Sabres and their fans were hoping, but the talented defenseman is making the type of impact you'd expect from an upper-echelon two-way defender.

Buffalo will hope his tremendous showing against the Panthers is a sign of things to come, especially if Dahlin ends up missing a couple contests to recover from his injury.

Sabres Quick Hits

• Head coach Lindy Ruff made the right decision to pull Colten Ellis from the crease after Florida's second goal. Both shots that got through him must be stopped at the NHL level.

• Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen played his best game of the season in relief, and the Sabres will need UPL to deliver again Tuesday night against the Montreal Canadiens.

• Josh Doan finally found the score sheet and looks like he's skating better after fighting through an injury over the first handful of games.

• Jack Quinn continues to impress and appears destined to land a massive raise as a restricted free agent (if Buffalo doesn't re-sign him before that).

• Olen Zellweger has just one point in five games, but his puck play has been as advertised and the production should follow soon enough.

• Solid, albeit unspectacular, performances from Jiri Kulich and Konsta Helenius as they returned after being healthy scratches for Saturday's loss to the Utah Mammoth.

• The Sabres and Habs are scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. ET faceoff at the Bell Centre on Tuesday as part of the NHL's "Frozen Frenzy" event.

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