The Buffalo Sabres picked up a rare matinee victory on Monday over the Florida Panthers, but it came at a cost.
The superstar defenseman Rasmus Dahlin left with an injury and did not return, and he will miss game action going forward.
Dahlin was hurt during the second period and didn’t play beyond his third shift in that frame.
His workload in the first period was about his average and put him on pace for a normal outing, so he must’ve tweaked something in the second period.
The best theory that fans have is that on a power play shot in which Dahlin slid down to a knee to fire, he may have hurt something.
The Sabres initially announced it as an upper-body injury when they shared mid-game that Dahlin was done for the day.
Dahlin does have a history of some back issues since he’s been in the NHL, so that raises the concern level at least a bit.
After the game, Sabres coach Lindy Ruff provided a small update.
How Long is Rasmus Dahlin Out?
Dahlin has been called day-to-day by Ruff, who added that Dahlin won’t “initially” be going on the upcoming road trip.
The Sabres start their journey in Montreal for a Tuesday night game against the Canadiens, so it sounds like Ruff was ruling out Dahlin for that one.
Given Ruff’s language, it doesn’t appear Dahlin has been ruled out for the other remaining games of the trip — Thursday in Toronto against the Maple Leafs, then back in Montreal on Saturday — but it sounds like if Dahlin were to play in those games, he’d travel there separately to rejoin the team.
Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said Rasmus Dahlin is day-to-day. He won’t initially go on the trip so that would rule him out for at least tomorrow.
— Matthew Fairburn (@MatthewFairburn) October 12, 2026
Hockey teams are generally pretty vague with this stuff. There may never be more clarity on what exactly Dahlin hurt.
The day-to-day designation is at least better than the other classic, week-to-week.
Still, it leaves open for interpretation just how badly Dahlin may be hurt, and it leaves the Sabres shorthanded at least for a little while.
Sabres Goalie Question
The Sabres also pulled goalie Colten Ellis on Monday afternoon, although that was after he gave up two soft goals and didn’t appear to be due to injury.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen came in and got the win as he was solid in relief.
The Sabres are without Alex Lyon due to injury right now, so Ellis has been the unquestioned backup, but performances like this may make it easy to give the No. 2 goalie role back to Lyon as soon as he’s healthy.
UPL is also polarizing in Buffalo, and some fans will want Lyon to be the full-time starter when he returns. That’s a moot point until he’s healthy, though.
Sabres Reveal How Long Rasmus Dahlin Will Be Out With Injury