BUFFALO, N.Y. — When it comes to this point in the season for the Buffalo Sabres, every game remaining is crucial.
With two games remaining in February, the Sabres are 27-27-4 on the season. Four teams sit in front of Buffalo in the playoff race, as they remain out of the wildcard spot by 11 points.
With 24 games left on the schedule, every point matters if the team is looking to break their 13-year-long playoff drought.
Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin knows how crucial this time is for the team.
In his past six games, he has played over 29 minutes in each appearance. The last time this was pulled off by an NHL player was back in 2016 when Erik Karlsson did so during a seven-game run. It's also the longest streak for a Sabre since the league started tracking ice time in 1997-98.
Dahlin also has skated the furthest distance in a game so far this season at 4.91 miles, just .04 ahead of Kirill Kaprizov who took the lead in this category in December.
“We’ve asked Rasmus to play more minutes and more situations, and he’s done an amazing job at it,” said Sabres coach Don Granato. “He’s just an elite hockey player, and we need it.”
During this six-game performance, Dahlin set a personal best for ice time playing 30:47 against the Minnesota Wild last Saturday, and again skating a total of 31:43 against Carolina on Sunday night.
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