The NHL has added Buffalo Sabres defenceman Rasmus Dahlin to its COVID list. He is the ninth Sabres player to be added to the list. Buffalo has not played since January 31st and it’s unclear if they will have time to adequately prepare for their next potential game on Thursday. Lancy Lysowski of the Buffalo News reported the update late Monday morning.
Rasmus Dahlin is the ninth Sabres player added to the Covid protocol list. https://t.co/zeLJziynFJ
— Lance Lysowski (@LLysowski) February 8, 2021
Sabres Rasmus Dahlin Added to COVID List
Dahlin was not having the season some might have wanted for the star defender. He had just one goal and three points in 10 games despite heavy deployment in the offensive zone and over four minutes per game with the power-play unit. The good things are that Dahlin’s Corsi For is still slightly better than 50 percent and his shot percentage is below its career mark of 4.7 percent. Dahlin is a victim of some slight bad luck, but there is plenty of time to reverse things even in a shorter season. Nothing about his current performance should affect his usage when he is able to return to action.
The Sabres originally drafted Dahlin first overall in the 2018 Draft and have been rewarded. He already has 14 goals and 87 points in 151 games. His 2018-19 debut was enough to warrant a third-place finish in the Calder Trophy voting. That award ultimately went to Elias Pettersson. Buffalo still needs to put more talent around Dahlin and its other stars, but he should be a rock on the blueline for years with his ability.
How Buffalo Manages Dahlin’s Absence
It’s hard to know what is going to happen to the team this week. They can’t practice until Tuesday but currently have a game scheduled for Thursday. That gives them very little time to prepare. The timeline doesn’t even account for the players, including Dahlin, that have been added to the league’s COVID list since last week. It’s a very messy situation. If Buffalo can play, they may have to rely extensively on their taxi squad.
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