Rasmus Dahlin returned to the team in practice on Monday after a short absence to be with his fiancee in Europe during the holiday break.
The defenceman did not play the in the team’s 4-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday, which was their eighth consecutive victory.
Dahlin ranks third on the team with 28 points despite playing in only 33 games. He took a leave of absence from the team earlier in the season in November to deal with a personal family matter.
The Sabres captain revealed before the season that his fiancee, Carolina, had suffered a major heart failure while on vacation in France in the summer. When Dahlin took a leave of absence in November, head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters that “he’s got full support by our team.”
Dahlin, the first overall pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, has finished in the top 15 in Norris Trophy voting each of the past three seasons, and was an All-Star three straight seasons from 2021-22 to 2023-24.
In the basement of the Eastern Conference standings as recently as December 8, the Sabres have rattled off eight consecutive victories to move into a tie for eighth in the conference at 19-14-4.