Rasmus Dahlin knows the Sabres need more than flashes.
After a rough Sunday afternoon in a 4-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, Buffalo’s captain said the group has to clean up plenty if it wants to find steadier footing. Dahlin finished that game minus-3, and the final moments summed up the frustration: Victor Olofsson beat him outside the blue line, then Dahlin took the slashing penalty as the former Sabres winger headed in on goal.
Now Buffalo turns the page to Wednesday’s home game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at KeyBank Center, and Dahlin is looking for a sharper version of himself and his team.
“I think most of my areas have to improve,” Dahlin said following Tuesday’s practice.
That’s been the theme early on. Dahlin remains one of the league’s most dangerous defensemen, but he hasn’t delivered that same night-to-night force he showed last season, when he finished third in Norris Trophy voting.
“I think he’s just trying to find that consistent level,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “There’s been great games, and there’s been games where there’s been mistakes, obviously.
“But he’s trying to … be consistent every night. It’s not for lack of effort.”
Dahlin has missed three games with an upper-body injury recently, but he’s hardly the only Sabre searching for a steadier stretch. The team has too often followed strong performances with letdowns, and outside of its recent three-game winning streak, it has only managed to win back-to-back games one other time.
Friday looked like a breakthrough. Buffalo beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2 in what might have been its most complete effort of the season. Then Sunday happened, and the Sabres unraveled after a strong first 30 minutes, dropping below .500 at home at 4-5-0.
“We’ve had really good games, both as a team and also individual,” Dahlin said, noting that Buffalo has already seen big nights like Tage Thompson’s five-point performance. “Like, really, really good team games. You look at (Tage Thompson) had a five-point night, every individual.
“But it’s not consistent, so we have to find that. We’re … (17) games in. It’s time now to get better, but we got time.”
The season is still young in the standings, with 67 games left, but the Sabres entered Tuesday with 19 points at 8-6-3. That left them one point behind the Florida Panthers for the Eastern Conference’s second wild card spot. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, has 24 points, and Buffalo can’t afford to give away a regulation result against an Atlantic Division opponent.
The Sabres went 3-0-1 against the Lightning last season, and the matchup has taken on extra edge. As Buffalo climbed into contender territory a year ago, the teams built into fierce rivals, and the March 8 meeting at KeyBank Center - a wild, fight-filled 7-6 Sabres win - still stands out as one of the most memorable games in recent memory.
Buffalo will also be hoping the home ice helps. KeyBank Center has been loud again all season, and last year the Sabres turned it into one of the NHL’s toughest buildings for visitors while going 26-10-5 at home.
This season, though, the offense has not matched the atmosphere. Buffalo has scored just 21 goals at home, the fourth-lowest total in the league.
Dahlin said the answer starts with simplifying things.
“We have to do the little things right,” he said. “I think when we do that, we create a lot offensively.
That’s in my game, too. I think it goes down throughout the whole team.
So details, I think that’s what going to be important moving forward.”
Jiri Kulich’s season has not found a clean rhythm either. Six weeks into the year, the 22-year-old forward is still trying to settle in after nearly a year away while recovering from a blood clot. He also missed five games with a concussion, and in two games since returning, he has not looked fully comfortable.
That has put him in line to sit Wednesday. Kulich skated as an extra at Tuesday’s practice, while Ryan McLeod, who has been a healthy scratch the last two games, is expected to take his place.
Ruff said Kulich is “still searching for his game.”
“I believe he still has it,” Ruff said. “It just might take time.”
Kulich has already been a healthy scratch once this season and also missed one game after feeling sick and returning to Buffalo for testing. He has one goal and three points on the year.
Ruff said the next step is for Kulich to bring a “B game.”
“Whether it’s hanging onto pucks a little more, getting above the puck, playing well away from the puck that sometimes can create extra chances,” he said. “And then when you have it, don’t complicate things, but what’s the next play you can make?”
McLeod centered Jason Zucker and Josh Doan during Tuesday’s session.
Ruff also said goalie Alex Lyon, who has missed the entire season with a left shoulder injury, is “on target to join us soon” and will travel with the Sabres on their six-game road trip, which begins Thursday in Chicago against the Blackhawks.
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