The Buffalo Sabres were being understandably cautious and coy about things Tuesday morning. But they proved during Sunday night's 7-3 loss in Columbus how easily their collective game can go to pieces without Rasmus Dahlin on the ice.
So when Dahlin's planned rehab skate in KeyBank Center morphed into full participation in practice, it's clear the Sabres got the news they wanted: Barring something unexpected, Buffalo's All-Star defenseman will take a regular shift Wednesday night when the Sabres start a road trip in Bell Centre against the Montreal Canadiens.
Without their do-it-all lead on defense, the Buffalo Sabres looked disconnected from the outset and committed turnovers that gave the Columbus Blue Jackets multiple scoring opportunities in a 7-3 loss.
"It was nice to get back at it," said Dahlin, who needed a night off after accumulating lower-body soreness during Saturday's matinee against Colorado. "And I was not sure it was going to feel 100 (%), but I did. So it's great. I'm happy to be back."
Dahlin is averaging a team-high 23:44 per game while playing in all situations. Can he push that ice-time envelope Wednesday, assuming coach Don Granato is ready to do so?
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"I'm not making that call," Dahlin said. "But I'm ready to go."
During his weekly appearance Tuesday morning on WGR Radio, Granato said Dahlin was going to have a rehab skate and not participate in practice. But that plan changed, which was good news for the club. Dahlin was a full participant in all drills, skating with normal partner Henri Jokiharju.
Granato said Dahlin wasn't wincing or favoring the injured area and that after practice doctors were planning to check for "potential vulnerability" due to any lack of strength in the region.
"He pushed through the rehab skate and the medical team was comfortable with where he was in that," Granato said. "So he hopped off the ice early on the rehab, jumped on the ice with us (for practice) and he looked normal, to me, out there."
"That was obviously a big hit to us when he's not in the lineup," center Tage Thompson said. "He's been awesome. He's a guy that's really hungry. He wants to be the guy the team leans on, and you see that with his play. He's eating big minutes right now, playing great hockey at both ends of the ice. He likes that pressure and I think he thrives under it."
Dahlin didn't know if his injury built up from the unpenalized hit he took from Avalanche defenseman Jack Johnson in the third period Saturday, or the crushing check he delivered a couple minutes later on Colorado forward Andre Burakovsky.
"I think it's a little bit of everything," he said. "I didn't feel it right away. It slowly came after the game. So I'm not really sure exactly what situation, but it was a physical game. A lot of stuff out there."
The biggest item was the Johnson play, which had Granato and Sabres fans irate because Dahlin was hit with a high stick and interfered with and there was no call. Replays showed Colorado's Mikko Rantanen gliding away with the puck after the collision, clearly expecting the whistle for a penalty, and then re-accelerating through his zone when he heard none.
With a stunned Dahlin still on the ice, the puck was advanced and the Avs got the go-ahead goal from Alex Newhook in what became a 5-3 victory.
What happened in Vegas the last four years (three Western Conference finals appearances, one Stanley Cup final appearance) doesn't stay there. It's the experience Alex Tuch can lean on to try to replicate with the team he grew up loving as a kid outside of Syracuse.
"You want to win games and when stuff like that happens, it's unfortunate," Dahlin said. "I'm not complaining. It's hockey. It goes so fast out there. It just (stinks) that they scored on that play. Life goes on."
Dahlin, however, admitted the play was still on his mind a few minutes later.
"Of course, I want a penalty on that one but it goes so fast," Dahlin said. "And it was behind the net, too. And the puck was in another zone. I'm not mad about it (now). I was pretty angry but you've just got to focus on the next shift. And we were down one goal. So we had to go back to try to score. I tried to do everything I could."
