Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Sabres are a dozen games into their 2025-26 regular season campaign, and the results, to this point, have been a bit mixed for Buffalo.
Heading into a matchup with JJ Peterka and the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday, the Sabres are sitting at 5-4-3 in the standings with 13 points. While that puts Buffalo within a point of a playoff spot in the Atlantic Division, the Sabres are facing a currently stacked standings with every other team in the Eastern Conference being 13 points or better.
Buffalo has been able to put up points in the standings to make things interesting, riding a six-game point streak, where the Sabres have gone 3-0-3 in that span.
Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin has been around long enough in Buffalo to know how tight the Atlantic Division is and has been over the years. That's why every point the team can earn this early in the season matters.
"Obviously you want to win those, but to get a point out of those games, it's very important too," said Dahlin on Tuesday during an appearance on the "Jeremy and Joe Show" on WGR. "One point matters so much in this league. You remember a couple years back, we lost by one point to get into the playoffs. So every single point matters."
Despite the 14-year playoff drought hanging over the Sabres' heads, Dahlin feels that this year's group in Buffalo is playing a much tighter game than in seasons past.
"We play a more solid game. We have a different defense-first-type mentality this year, and we don't take any chances, really," Dahlin said with Jeremy White and Joe DiBiase. "We're happy to win a game 2-1, 3-2, games like that. That's the type of games I think you guys will see this year."
So far through 12 games this season, Dahlin's production is a bit down from where it maybe has been in years past with just a goal and eight assists for nine points. He knows he's got way more to give in the coming weeks and months ahead.
"Obviously I want to become the best. I'm not satisfied until I'm No. 1, but here and now, all I want is to get to the playoffs. That's all it is right now," Dahlin said.
One area of Dahlin's game he takes pride in this season, in particular, is him being a tougher player to play against, and a player others don't want to match up with shift-in and shift-out.
"I mean, it's part of my game. When I'm at my best is when I'm a little bit feisty out there," Dahlin said. "Do I care that guys can't really stand me sometimes? No. It's fun. It's a part of the game. I like to compete, I like to be in the game."
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