'This city's amazing' | Dahlin tallies 5 points in front of sellout crowd

Rasmus Dahlin and his teammates have walked beneath the same sign each time they've exited the Buffalo Sabres dressing room over the past two seasons. Before they take the ice, be it for practice or a game, they are greeted with the same two words.
Earn it.
It's a motto the team has embraced in several senses - earning their ice time, their victories, their individual and team improvement. But it's also been the approach to restoring their connection with a fanbase that had grown weary of disappointment.
"We've had to prove to the fans that we're a competitive team," Dahlin said.

The Sabres have progressively done that since last season began - by creating memories in big games (think RJ Night and last season's finale), by delivering on their objective to create an entertaining product (they lead the NHL in goals), and by their involvement in the community.
The latest piece of evidence arrived Saturday in the form of a raucous, sellout crowd that arrived ready to greet a Sabres team that had won seven of its last eight games.
They went home with another memory. Rasmus Dahlin scored the tying goal with 2:24 remaining, then assisted on Victor Olofsson's overtime winner to complete a five-point night in Buffalo's thrilling 6-5 victory over the Minnesota Wild inside KeyBank Center.
Dahlin was asked afterward to reflect on the crowd and what the sellout meant.
"I get chills every time I hear that stuff," Dahlin said. "… When they are loud, we just want to win more. We love our crowd. We love our fans."
Don Granato has told the story of being stuck in the parking lot outside KeyBank Center during his days as a scout with the Toronto Maple Leafs, which coincided with the Sabres' back-to-back Eastern Conference finalist runs in 2005-06 and 2006-07.
While other scouts left early to beat traffic, Granato stayed back. Still a hockey fan at heart, he couldn't pass up the chance to hear the passion from a crowd he knew loved the game as much as he did. He felt the same way Saturday.
"Even before the puck dropped, you could feel the passion," he said. "The nights like this are opportunities to make memories for hockey fans, for hockey people."
Granato pointed to one moment in particular, after Tage Thompson rocketed a one-timer for the Sabres' second goal of the night and Thompson's 31st of the season. An "MVP" chant ensued - a testament to Thompson's Hart-worthy numbers, yes, but also a rewarding moment for his teammates.
"That's engagement between the fans and our players, and they feel that," Granato said. "There's nothing that makes them more proud to know that their work and what they've worked for and care about working for is seen and felt."
These Sabres have exhibited their pride in Buffalo through their words and their actions. When the city was reeling from the devastating blizzard that hit during the holidays, they took it as a point of responsibility to treat the fans with a victory in their first game back. They won that night, 6-3.
They took ownership of their ability to provide a distraction again this past week following the hospitalization of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who suffered a cardiac arrest on the field last Monday. The Sabres showed up for their game in Washington the following night wearing "Love For Three" T-shirts and delivered a comeback win in overtime.

Hamlin's well-being was still on the minds of those who poured into KeyBank Center on Saturday. The team held a pregame "moment of celebration" in his honor, a nod to his remarkable recovery to date. The fans delivered an extended ovation.
"I'm very happy we could win on home ice and away ice after that stuff happened," Dahlin said. "It was kind of emotional going into this game, to see the jumbotron and stuff. But yeah, the fans were amazing. We love playing in this arena. This city is just amazing."
Here's more from another memorable night in Buffalo.

How it happened

PERIOD 1
Olofsson opened the scoring with seven minutes remaining in the period, the end result of a sequence that started with Olofsson stripping the puck from Jared Spurgeon in the Buffalo zone.
The Sabres worked the puck up ice into the offensive zone, where Dahlin attempted a pass through the middle. The pass was deflected onto the stick of Casey Mittelstadt, who found Olofsson alone in the right faceoff circle.

PERIOD 2
Minnesota evened the score with an early goal from Brandon Duhaime, then pulled ahead with a 5-on-3 goal scored by Kirill Kaprizov.
The Sabres did not blink. Thompson, Dahlin, and Dylan Cozens all scored goals in a span of 3:25 to put regain the lead and send the sellout KeyBank Center crowd into a frenzy.
Thompson struck first on the power-play, sending a one-timer from the left circle to the far-side corner for his 31st goal of the season. The crowd responded with "MVP" chants.

Dahlin scored a highlight-reel goal 1:32 later. He dragged the puck to the slot and waited a couple of beats before picking his spot to Marc-Andre Fleury's stick side.

Dahlin drew a roughing call against Kaprizov to send the Sabres back to the power play, during which Cozens carried the puck down low and picked the far-side corner to make it 4-2.

Ryan Hartman scored for Minnesota to cut the lead to 4-3 with 1:15 remaining.
PERIOD 3
Foligno evened the score just 26 seconds into the period, sending a pass in off his skate while he tangled with Dahlin in front of the Buffalo net. The Wild took the lead on a power-play goal from Eriksson Ek with 12:12 remaining.
Dahlin tied the game with 2:24 to play, burying a one-timer from the outer edge of the right circle.

OVERTIME
The two clubs traded chances and Buffalo's best chances before the goal came on a 2-on-1 rush by Thompson and Alex Tuch - which Fleury made a pad save on - and a breakaway by Jeff Skinner.
Olofsson then scored his 15th goal of the season on a one-timer from the top of the right faceoff circle to give Buffalo the victory in the game's dying seconds.

What we learned

1. It's getting weird. The Sabres are now 5-0-0 in their black and red alternate uniforms and have scored exactly six goals in each game.
"We feel evil in the jerseys," Dahlin said afterward on MSG.
2.The Sabres have now erased third-period deficits in three straight victories - on the road against veteran opponents in Boston and Washington and now at home against another contender in the Wild.
This comeback, Granato said, was different.
"When this happens at home, it's completely different," he said. "You have 19,000 people you might send home disappointed. And if you think that doesn't affect your psyche as a team, as individuals, it's a load to handle."
Dahlin said the Sabres never lost confidence.
"We're a strong group and we figure out ways to win," he said. "I guess that's what matters."
3.Dahlin's five points marked a career high and upped his season total to 44, third among NHL defensemen.
"That's pretty impressive as a D," Olofsson said. "Not only that, he's just dominating out there. He's very good on defense too, and he's playing hard. He's a great leader out there."
Granato campaigned afterwards for Dahlin to join Thompson at All-Star Weekend. Fans can vote for Dahlin and other Sabres up to 10 times every 24 hours at NHL.com/Votenow through January 17.
"There should be some clicks tonight because that was a special night by him," Granato said. "To watch that unfold was impressive."

4.Dahlin tallied his 200th NHL point with the secondary assist on Olofsson's first goal. His 313 career games to hit that mark are the fourth-fewest by a defenseman in Sabres history, trailing Phil Housley (212 games), John Van Boxmeer (255 games) and Doug Bodger (308 games).

Up next

The Sabres host the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday. Tickets are available here.
Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. The puck drops at 7 on MSG and WGR 550.