'It's not an easy job' | Dahlin's uptick in ice time helping fuel Sabres' recent success

Rasmus Dahlin was not on the ice for the Buffalo Sabres’ practice on Monday, instead taking a well-earned breather after playing at an historic rate as of late.

Dahlin has exceeded 29 minutes of ice time in six consecutive games, the longest-such streak in the NHL since Erik Karlsson did so in seven straight games from Feb. 25 to March 8, 2016. It’s the longest streak by a Sabres player since the NHL began tracking ice time in 1997-98.

He has twice set career highs in ice time during that stretch – first when he skated 30:47 in Minnesota last Saturday and again when he skated 31:43 against Carolina on Sunday night.

“It’s not an easy job,” said Sabres defenseman Erik Johnson, who has exceeded 29 minutes eight times in his career and led Colorado with an average ice time of 25:26 in 2017-18.

“It’s very difficult. You’re matched up against the other team’s top lines, you’re asked to do it all. And he puts a lot of pressure on himself. So, when he doesn’t do that, he’s mad. And he’s a wonderful person, and really happy for all the success he’s having right now because we really have leaned on him and needed him.”

Dahlin’s uptick in usage began with injuries to fellow defensemen Mattias Samuelsson and Owen Power, both of whom average north of 20 minutes of ice time. Power returned Sunday against the Hurricanes and skated 23:05, but the Sabres continued to lean on Dahlin at a high rate.

In addition to setting his career high in ice time, NHL Edge tracked Dahlin as having skated a total of 4.91 miles in the shootout win over the Hurricanes – the longest distance in the league this season.

Dahlin was on the ice for 45 Sabres shot attempts at 5-on-5 Sunday, tied for the fifth-highest mark in the NHL this season. Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard and Connor McDavid set the league’s highest mark of the season when they were on for 48 shot attempts apiece against Boston last Wednesday.

“He’s just an elite hockey player, and we need it,” Sabres coach Don Granato said. “The urgency of the situation demands it without Samuelsson. It was nice to get Owen Power back last night. I thought he was great. But when you’re missing Owen and Samuelsson, that’s over 50 minutes of prime, high-end defenders and skill on the defensive end.

“We’ve asked Rasmus to play more minutes and more situations, and he’s done an amazing job at it.”

Here are more notes from Monday’s practice at LECOM Harborcenter.

1. Jeff Skinner left the session early and was undergoing imaging on a potential injury when Granato met with the media. Skinner scored his 19th goal of the season Sunday, tied for the Sabres lead.

“We are getting some imaging on him right now to find out and make certain that everything is OK,” Granato said. “We obviously have to do that before we fly out (to Florida), so we figured we’d do that based on how he felt this morning."

2. The Sabres recalled forward Tyson Jost after practice. Jost has 13 points (3+10) in 23 games since he was assigned to Rochester on Dec. 29.

3.The Sabres open a two-game road trip in Florida on Tuesday, with a visit to Tampa up next on Thursday. They swept this same trip in February of last year, which vaulted them into a playoff position and set the tone for a push that went down to the final week of the season.

The Sabres sit 11 points out of the playoffs but have won three straight contests and are keeping their focus on the game at hand, Granato said.

“I’ve said it for about a month now, we seem to be in a much better place,” he said. “And what I mean by that is we’re able to dial in and kind of compartmentalize this one game or just one shift and not allow any distractions or attention to go elsewhere. And the guys are identifying with how they can play as a collective group, and I think they're feeling a synergy in that and, obviously, that is what you want.”

The game Tuesday can be streamed exclusively on ESPN+ and Hulu beginning at 7 p.m. Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray will have the radio call on WGR 550.