Buffalo Sabres [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/buffalo-sabres] defenseman Rasmus Dahlin will take a temporary leave of absence, coach Lindy Ruff said Friday. Dahlin is dealing with a personal matter in his native Sweden, the coach told reporters. [https://x.com/BuffaloSabres/status/1986860051525488902] "I will say this, he said everything is OK, and through this he's got full support by our team," Ruff said. The team provided no details other than that. Dahlin, 25, has a goal and nine points in 14 games this season. The captain's averaging 24:27 of ice time and has 12 hits, 17 blocked shots and a minus-11 rating. The Sabres are last in the Eastern Conference with a 5-5-4 record, 14 points and a .500 points percentage. The New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders], Columbus Blue Jackets [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/columbus-blue-jackets] and New York Rangers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers] also have 14 points. In 523 career games, Dahlin has 84 goals and 285 assists for 369 points. In September, Dahlin revealed [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/buffalo-sabres/latest-news/sabres-captain-dahlin-grateful-to-french-health-care-professionals-for-saving-life-of-fiancee] that his fiancee, Carolina Matovac, received a heart transplant this summer while on vacation in France. "Fortunately, she received CPR on multiple occasions, and up to a couple of hours at a time to keep her alive, which ultimately saved her life," Dahlin wrote at the time. "Without her receiving lifesaving CPR, the result would have been unimaginable. It is hard to even think about the worst-case scenario." Dahlin and Matovac also stressed the importance of CPR treatment and training, emergency workers and the impact of organ donation. For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
