Dahlin scores pair of goals in Prospects Challenge win over Devils

It took one shift for Rasmus Dahlin to show a packed crowd at Harborcenter what kind of night he had in store for them on Friday, when the Buffalo Sabres opened the Prospects Challenge against the New Jersey Devils.
Dahlin led a rush up the ice on the very first shift of the game, crossing the blue line with possession and firing a shot wide of the net. Moments prior, the defenseman had been greeted coming out of the tunnel to a sellout crowd of 1,800-plus, many of them wearing his No. 26 jersey.
"I was excited, so I wanted to score a goal," he said afterward.

Evidently, the fans wanted to see him score, too. Dahlin went on to find the back of the net twice and tallied an assist in Buffalo's 6-4 win over New Jersey. Each time he scored, a crescendo of cheers rang from the crowd as he led his teammates back toward the bench.
The applause was so noticeable, Dahlin said his teammates joked about it in the dressing room.
"I'm not surprised anymore," Dahlin said when asked about the fans. "They're huge and they're great."

Both of Dahlin's goals came on shots from the left faceoff circle. The defenseman got on the board in the second period, catching a pass in the high slot before deking by a defender as he drove down low to take his shot.

For an encore, Dahlin forced a takeaway in the neutral zone before executing a give-and-go with forward Myles Powell as the Sabres crossed the blue line. Powell's shot deflected off the pad of Devils goalie Mackenzie Blackwood, and Dahlin was there to bury the rebound.

"His instincts are amazing," coach Chris Taylor said. "A lot of guys wouldn't have scored his second goal. Obviously, it was a great shot off the pads for him to get that, but a lot of defensemen would have probably pulled back on that. He's got those instincts to go in there and get that."

Dahlin put those instincts on display throughout the night, whether he was laying out hometown kid Ryan Schmelzer with a hit along the boards or making tape-to-tape passes through the neutral zone. Every decision he made on Friday seemed to come without hesitation.
"I think he played a really good game," said Victor Olofsson, his teammate in the SHL. "Not only that he scored a couple goals and picked up an assist, he was really good with the puck and made a lot of space for other players too, so he was really good today.
"I'm pretty used to it. I've played with him for two years now so there's nothing new to me. That's the kind of stuff he does and it's unbelievable to see."

If people came to watch Dahlin, they left having seen the depth of talent that resides in the Sabres' prospect pool. First-round picks Alex Nylander and Tage Thompson both scored shorthanded goals, while Olofsson - the SHL's leader in goals last season - showed off his signature one-time shot with a power-play marker.
Cole Coskey, a roster invitee who was with the Sabres at development camp, opened the scoring on a feed from camp-standout Matej Pekar in the first period.

The list goes on. Rasmus Asplund made the pass to tee up Olofsson's tally on the power play, then later
hustled to chase down a loose puck before dishing to a wide-open Nylander on his goal. William Borgen, Dahlin's defense partner, was a force to be reckoned from a physicality standpoint.
"Everybody played a great game tonight," Taylor said. "You look at every different line, every different pairing. I was impressed with a lot of our guys.
"… They competed tonight. And they're competing right now to make an impact for the Buffalo Sabres, all of them."

Up next

The Sabres will continue their Prospects Challenge against the Boston Bruins at 7 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be streamed live in-market on Sabres.com, with highlights to follow. Boston defeated Pittsburgh 4-2 on Friday. The Penguins and Devils will play at 3:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale here.