In the matchup against the Red Wings, much of the offensive play went through Dahlin, especially in the first two periods. Getting Dahlin more involved in the offense is something he and the Sabers wanted to accomplish.
– After the last game I said that I thought his game was closer to what it should be, he suffered a lot during training camp due to injury, but he is getting closer and closer to where it should be, says the Sabers coach Lindy Ruff. Transfer Dahlin to NHL .com/sv.
Dallin set a new personal best last season after scoring 20 goals in 81 games (59 total points). His best scoring season to date in his NHL career came in 2022-23, when he scored 73 points (15+58) in 78 games.
The Sabers are in third place in the First Division with nine points in nine games (4-4-1) after defeating the Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars and Red Wings in a week. After opening the season with two straight losses to the New Jersey Devils in Prague in the NHL World Series, the team found its form again.
– Now we find ways to stop games, and that’s nice, says Dahlen. We played 60 minutes and when we took the lead in the third period we did a good job of closing out the game. That helped us and then it was really nice to score a strong goal tonight.
– It was a learning process. You have to take care of the record, and that’s exactly what we’re doing now. We keep it off center and then cover the shots and do everything we can. It’s beautiful.
Against the Red Wings, Taj Thompson had two goals and an assist. The Sabers also got the long-awaited power play goal of the game when Jason Zucker scored the team’s first numerically superior goal of the season.
Zucker, who arrived this summer on a one-year deal as a free agent, became Buffalo’s first player to hit the power play this season. The Sabres‘ power play was the team’s Achilles’ heel during the opener. With a return of just 3.9% after Saturday’s match they placed last in the league.
“We worked hard during every practice session, even off the ice, we talked to each other to try to find an identity for our power play,” Dahlin said. It’s something we keep doing, but every night it looks better and eventually it will look really good.
The goal was also Zucker’s first in a Buffalo jersey, and Thompson later praised it.
