BUFFALO – Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin returned to Sweden over the Christmas break to be with his fiancée, Carolina Matovac, and will miss tonight’s game against the Boston Bruins, coach Lindy Ruff said.
“He’s just attending to his fiancee in Sweden, should be back shortly,” Ruff said this morning in KeyBank Center.
Dahlin missed three games in November to visit Carolina, who has been rehabbing after experiencing major heart failure and undergoing a heart transplant in the summer.
Ruff, whose Sabres carry a seven-game win streak into tonight’s contest, said Dahlin should accompany the team on its three-game road trip that begins Monday.
“He’s not back yet, but we believe he’ll be back,” he said.
With Dahlin out tonight, the Sabres have recalled defenseman Ryan Johnson from the Rochester Americans.
In this morning’s pregame skate, Bowen Byram moved up alongside Mattias Samuelsson on the top defense pair. Jacob Bryon, who has recently been scratched, skated alongside rookie Zach Metsa.
Meanwhile, Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is expected to start tonight, his first nod since Sunday’s stellar 26-save effort in a 3-1 road win against the New Jersey Devils.
Luukkonen has struggled on the road all season but performed dynamically at home this season, compiling a 4-1-0 record with a 1.97 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage.
Ruff said the Finn, who hadn’t won a road game all season, realized he needed to step up in New Jersey and “give these guys a great game.”
“He gave us a great game, and I was so happy for him because I think we all know what he can do,” Ruff said. “It’s just going out and doing it on a nightly basis for us.”
In other news, Sabres winger Jason Zucker, out the last seven games with a lower- and upper-body injuries, skated with his teammates this morning for the first since going down Dec. 8.
He won’t play tonight. Check back later for more on Zucker.
Weather delays in Boston forced the Bruins’ flight to be delayed. They arrived at the rink early this afternoon.