While this is Rasmus Dahlin's second time in the Olympics representing Team Sweden, the last time was as a 17-year-old with limited ice time. He only appeared in two games in the 2018 Olympics, but did have one assist.
This time around, he was expected to be one of the top defensmen and a key part of the team. He has certainly lived up to those expectations and been one of the best players for Sweden.
As it would be no surprise to Sabres' fans who have had the chance to watch him the past decade, Dahlin has delivered with an impressive performance that included another assist on Saturday in the game against Slovakia. Through the three games of the preliminary round, Dahlin has four points with one goal and three assists.
What is notable about the performance is Dahlin's ability to make an impact on the power play, as the one goal and the assist against Slovakia were on the man advantage. While the Sabres' power play as a whole hasn't been great, Dahlin has been good in these situations as he is fourth on the team in power play goals this season, but first in power play assists.
Rasmus Dahlin has carried over his hot streak with the Buffalo Sabres into the Olympics
After a slow start to the season, Dahlin was playing excellent hockey over the past few weeks for the Buffalo Sabres. On the season, he has 48 points but 19 of those points have been in the last 14 games before the Olympic break, which included his first career hat trick when he had three goals against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The defensemen the Sabres have gives them a big advantage on the ice as their Top 4 have done a great job diving into the offensive zone making plays. In addition to Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson and Bowen Byram have 10 or more goals this season
Dahlin's career best in points was in 2022-23 when he had 73 and while it might be tough, if he finishes averaging a point per game after the Olympic break he would be able to match that. If he keeps playing like this he should have a great chance to get close to that total.