The Buffalo Sabres defeated the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers 5-3 on Monday, October 12, but the win came with a concerning development: captain Rasmus Dahlin left the game with an upper-body injury and did not return. Florida’s Sam Reinhart scored twice, while Tage Thompson delivered a late third-period goal to help seal Buffalo’s victory. The biggest question for the Sabres now is how long they might have to play without their star defenseman.
The Buffalo Sabres were on the power play in the second period when Dahlin took a blocked shot from the slot off a faceoff and immediately went down to a knee. He was able to skate off under his own power to the bench and into the Sabres locker room, and he did not return.
Rasmus Dahlin has one goal and two assists in the six games this season so far. He was a Norris Trophy finalist in 2025-26 when he racked up a career-high 74 points. Not only did Dahlin leave the game, but the Florida Panthers also made a goalie change in the first period after Jacob Markstrom gave up two goals on nine shots. But later, after the game, head coach Paul Maurice said he pulled Markstrom because he “just tightened up,” but that he believed it was “standard stuff” and not indicative of a lasting injury to Markstrom.
Jacob Markstrom is the starting goaltender now for the Florida Panthers after trading Sergei Bobrovsky in the offseason to the Toronto Maple Leafs. After Markstrom was pulled for an unidentified potential injury, Florida’s back up goalie Akira Schmid came into relief for the Panthers.
Sabres fans will await an update for the news of their captain, Dahlin’s condition, in the hopes that his upper body injury is not serious. The Buffalo Sabres are starting the season at 3-3 and are in a set of back-to-back games, playing the Florida Panthers Monday and Tuesday playing the Montreal Canadiens. The next few games for the Sabres are against Canadian teams with facing the Montreal Canadiens twice this week and the Toronto Maple Leaf’s.
Hopefully Rasmus will not be out long, and the Sabres can have their Captain back into the lineup. He is considered day-to-day as of now and hoping it’s nothing too serious. It will be the next man up for the Sabres for the next few games as the season rolls on. As Dahlin is the quarterback on the power play they will want him back soon, to continue the success on the power play.
The Buffalo Sabres are starting this early NHL season at .500 they are currently sixth in the Atlantic Division. Now, without their captain due to an upper body injury, they will need to overcome as a team and hope Dahlin will not be out for a long period of time and only be day-to-day as he is listed. The Buffalo Sabres will head to Canada and face the Montreal Canadiens Tuesday night and will try to find points and wins for the standings while their captain is sidelined.
While “day‑to‑day” is encouraging, there is no confirmed return date. The injury could be precautionary, but the Sabres are monitoring it closely. If it is not serious he could be back for the Toronto Maple Leaf game Thursday.
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