Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Sabres are preparing to head into the NHL All-Star break later this week after Wednesday night’s matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes at KeyBank Center.
Despite a recent shootout loss to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, the Sabres continued a seven-game point streak in the process, going 5-0-2 along the way. Buffalo was also able to grab seven points on its recent road trip, allowing for the Sabres to push for a playoff spot.
As it stands, the Sabres are only one point back of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference Wild Card race, only trailing the Pittsburgh Penguins with the same number of games being played.
”Ryan Miller Night” back on Jan. 19 was an electric night in Buffalo for not only Sabres fans, but also for the players. That was made quite clear on Tuesday when defenseman Rasmus Dahlin published a letter to Buffalo via the team’s website.
After the Sabres’ 3-2 overtime win that Thursday night over the New York Islanders in Downtown Buffalo, Dahlin admitted he thought he understood what Miller meant to the city. He also admitted he didn’t fully understand until the night his number was raised to the rafters.
“It was ‘RJ Night’ all over again.” said Dahlin to Sabres fans in his letter.
Dahlin gets excited whenever KeyBank Center is a packed house with fans, calling the atmosphere “like having a power play the whole night.”
“It's like we are 19,090 strong - 20 of us in uniform, the rest of us in the stands,” Dahlin wrote. “Together, we are going to break the other team mentally. That's what it feels like.”
Dahlin, along with other players on the team, are often seen going to Buffalo Bills games in Orchard Park. They know what kind of atmosphere takes place at Highmark Stadium during every home game over the course of a season.
Dahlin says he wants to bring the same kind of atmosphere to Downtown Buffalo every time the Sabres take to the ice.
“We have a sign in our locker room that says, ‘Earn It.’ We see it before every game and every practice,” Dahlin said.
Read more of Dahlin’s letter to Buffalo available in the tweet from the Sabres below:
