A six-game losing streak is over, but that doesn’t mean the Buffalo Sabres‘ head coach is happy.
Ralph Krueger benched star defenceman Rasmus Dahlin in the third period of Buffalo’s 4-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
Kruger says the 19-year-old is in a steep learning curve during his sophomore NHL season.
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“We’ve had a lot of situations in the last few weeks that have been mentally draining on the team and we’ve had to dig deep today to get this win,” Krueger said. “We’re making decisions for the team in the moment and it was a coaching room decision, not against Rasmus at all, it was for the other guys to just tighten things up and it worked.
“But Rasmus will learn from it, grow from it and move forward quickly from it I’m sure.”
Jack Eichel scored all four goals for the Sabres on Saturday as they improved their record to 10-6-3 and two points out of an Eastern Conference wild-card spot.
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Dahlin logged 11:56 of ice time — 12 shifts — in the victory while adding an assist. He typically logs 20 or more minutes per game.
The first-overall selection at the 2018 NHL Draft has one goal and 12 assists in 19 games this season for Buffalo, which started the year strong, but has struggled since the end of October.
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