Buffalo Is Calling Up AHL Defensemen to Start a Playoff Run

Rasmus Dahlin left Monday's game against Florida in the second period with an upper-body injury and did not return. He's now out, and the Sabres are already pulling from the AHL to fill the gap. That's where the blue line stands heading into the postseason.

It's a crowded IR room. Jack Rathbone and Topias Leinonen are both on injured reserve. The trade with Pittsburgh on Monday brought in a defenseman to help patch things together, but the organization is clearly working with whatever it can find. Bowen Byram remains the steadiest option back there — he's been a positive presence all season — but the depth behind him is thin in a way that wasn't supposed to be true when this team clinched.

Dahlin is doubtful for the upcoming game against Toronto. That's the next 10 days in a sentence. Owen Power anchors the first pairing, Byram handles the second, and after that the Sabres are mixing emergency call-ups with a mid-season acquisition to dress six. It's functional, barely.

The offense has its own problems — Buffalo has scored 2.7 goals per game over the last 10, down sharply from where it was — but the defensive situation is the more immediate logistical problem. You can scheme around a cold stretch up front. You can't scheme around not having enough defensemen to put on the ice.