Sabres’ Rasmus Dahlin played the most heroic defenseman hockey game in NHL playoff history originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The ‘C’ comes with responsibility, and Rasmus Dahlin takes it seriously.
Advertisement
The Buffalo Sabres captain has never been more of a leader, more heroic, than he was on Saturday night in Montreal with the Sabres facing elimination from the playoffs.
Dahlin scored the opening goal, tallied four assists and was an all-around menace in Buffalo’s resounding 8-3 win to send this series back to a Game 7 in Buffalo.
In the process, Dahlin became the first defenseman in NHL history to score five points while facing elimination:
It’s an astounding feat, really, one that shows the importance of Dahlin to this team and also shows his ability to rise to the moment.
Advertisement
Buffalo had just taken a tough loss in Game 5 at home, and so heading to Montreal seemed a daunting task.
But on the game’s very first shift, Dahlin got the puck near the left point, sliced past Juraj Slafkovsky so convincingly that the Habs’ forward sprawled out on the ice, then cut once more to find enough space to flip a shot up and over Jakub Dobes and into the goal.
From there, Dahlin was just on the ice when good things happened, skating freely and dealing accurately to his teammates.
Advertisement
Even this was a weird night, from 1-0 up after 32 seconds to 3-1 down quickly — but then seven unanswered goals by the Sabres told the rest of the story.
Dahlin was at the heart of it all, as the captain should be.
And thanks to their ‘C’, the Sabres will see another day, Monday night, Game 7 in Buffalo, a spot in the Eastern Conference Final on the line.
MORE: How the Sabres saved their season with an epic rally turned 8-3 blowout