Panthers forward Brad Marchand wasn’t thrilled with Rasmus Dahlin’s check away from the puck — and his response didn’t end once the referees peeled the pair off the ice.
Midway through the second period of Saturday’s 30 Buffalo win, the Sabres defenseman floated near the blueline after making a pass before veering toward Marchand and delivering a check.
But Dahlin, who’d also attempted to check Marchand along the boards earlier in the sequence, ended up tumbling to the ice as Marchand jumped on him, delivering multiple punches before a cluster of players skated over to join the scuffle as play stopped.
Marchand eventually skated over to the penalty box with Dahlin’s helmet, ripped a strap off it before chucking it back onto the ice as Dahlin seemingly chuckled.
“You know what? Playing with fire, man,” Sabres analyst and former Buffalo enforcer Rob Ray said on the MSG broadcast. “This is good.”
Marchand received penalties for both interference and roughing, while Tage Thompson served one for roughing in response to Marchand.
And 32 seconds later, Josh Doan deflected in a pass near the left post to give the Sabres a 2-0 lead in their win against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions.
“Whoever gets the most angry is usually the one that gets the penalty,” Dahlin told reporters postgame, according to The Athletic. “You have to stay calm in those moments. Usually he’s really good at that, but I won a little battle today.”
“They fed off of it,” Buffalo head coach Lindy Ruff said of the physical game. “There was a lot of emotion in the game. Lot of passion.”
Marchand, who spent the first 11-plus years of his career with the Bruins, became a key piece of Florida’s second run to the Stanley Cup last year after getting acquired ahead of the trade deadline, collecting 20 points in 23 playoff games.
He was rewarded with a six-year, $31.5 million deal despite being 37 years old, and he has already collected six points across the Panthers’ first seven games this season.
Dahlin’s moment with Marchand seemingly helped spark the Sabres in their second consecutive win after three losses to open the year — with Dahlin contributing four assists through those opening games.
The Panthers travel to Boston for their next game on Tuesday, while the Sabres face the Canadiens in Montreal on Monday.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
