Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – When Rasmus Dahlin scored 30 seconds into Tuesday's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, it was the type of play head coach Don Granato wants to see: Backpressure to cause a turnover, fast pace to get into transition through the neutral zone and a quick read by Dahlin to blast off into the play and fly down the slot.
The problem was the team didn’t get any momentum from it, as the Blue Jackets went on to then score seven unanswered goals.
Dahlin believes his team needs to use that goal as the example of the way the game needs to be played all the time.
"We closed quick, we had a good gap, and when we have the puck, we’ve got to have swagger with it," said Dahlin on Thursday following the morning skate. "We were trying stuff in stupid areas, but today, we need close support. We’ve got to get back to playing with swag and just speed, because that’s when we play our best game."
It’s not easy to put a 9-4 pasting at home from the 29th-ranked team in the league behind you, but Dahlin says it’s already done.
"We’ve been having some talks about it, and we’ve just got to move on. We’ve got to play better, and that’s it," the defenseman said.
"We’ve got to play harder, and we can’t let one turn into more goals. We’ve just got to shake it off and compete more."
Dahlin is now a leader on this team. He wears an "A" on his sweater, and he needs to lead just like Kyle Okposo does. He says they must hold themselves accountable.
"It’s up to us in this room," Dahlin said. "Our coach can [only] do so much, and it’s up to us in this room and it’s up to the leaders. We have to play better and bring more to the team.
"I don’t like to talk too much, I like to show it. I don’t like when the words turn into nothing. You can talk for days, but if you don’t show it on the ice, it doesn’t mean anything."
Dahlin thinks they get too charged up for certain matchups, and are maybe a little full of themselves when they beat teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Vegas Golden Knights or New York Rangers. He feels those wins need to be expected.
"We’ve seen we can beat the best teams in the league, and we can’t be happy about those games," Dahlin said. "That’s got to be a new standard, and we can’t take a break. We’ve got to bring that kind of style against the best teams to every single team, because if we take our foot of the gas, we’re in trouble."
The Sabres are losing ground fast in the playoff picture, as they’re now seven points out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Buffalo has played more games than every team it's chasing other than the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The team that’s seven points ahead of them in eighth place is the Washington Capitals, who hold four games in-hand on the Sabres.
Buffalo is now 27th in the league with a points percentage of .439. The Leafs are eighth with a points percentage of .655.
Jeff Skinner and Jordan Greenway are questionable for Thursday’s game. Both took part in the morning skate, which was optional.
Devon Levi will start in goal for Buffalo after both he and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen played poorly on Tuesday. Levi played 27:37, allowing four goals on 18 shots. Luukkonen played 32:12, allowing five goals on 16 shots.
Overall, Levi is 6-4-2 this season with a 3.27 goals-against average and an .892 save percentage.
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Toronto can score goals in a hurry, as they’re second in the NHL averaging 3.59 goals per-game.
Auston Matthews has 25 goals in 28 games, which leads the NHL. His 37 points is 13th overall in the league. In his last eight games, Matthews has 11 goals and five assists for 16 points.
Will Nylander is sixth in league scoring with 41 points. He also has three goals and 11 assists for 14 points in nine games.
Mitch Marner has eight goals and six assists for 14 points in his last nine games.
In his last eight games, John Tavares has two goals and seven assists for nine points.
Back on Aug. 9, the Leafs signed Martin Jones, and he wound up being Toronto’s No. 3 goalie. With Joseph Woll injured and Ilya Samsonov floundering, Jones has played three of the last four games.
Overall this season, Jones is 3-1-0 with a 2.55 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage. Samsonov is 5-1-5 this year with a 3.51 goals-against average and an .878 save percentage.
Toronto is 6-1-3 in their last 10 games. The Leafs are very good on the road, going 7-2-4.
Join the Bulldog for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. EST when you’ll hear from Granato, Skinner and Dahlin.
