Tempers flared as the Buffalo Sabers battled the Florida Panthers for an early-season Atlantic Division showdown. With less than ten minutes left in the third period, Sabers captain and star defenseman Rasmus Dahlin was involved in an on-ice incident that turned tensions into some fisticuffs.

As the Sabers blueliner and Panthers forward Anton Lundell chased a loose puck in the Buffalo zone, Dahlin’s stick made contact with Lundell’s face and dropped him to the ice. Lundell’s teammates quickly charged at Dahlin and a scrum quickly ensued as the officials tried to break it all up. Although the Panthers were irate after the contact, no penalty was imposed on the ice.

The NHL Department of Player Safety disagreed with the lack of call and intervened with some discipline against Dahlin. According to NHL insider Frank Seravalli, the Sabers star has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowed by the league’s collective bargaining agreement, for his actions in the game.

The discipline comes as a relief to the Sabers and Dahlin, who may have expected some sort of suspension for the persistent incident. Now that he has been fined, he appears to have avoided any further consequences and will be available when Buffalo prepares for their next game.

This is Dahlin’s first season as the Sabres’ captain, and he hopes to lead his team to the playoffs in his first season with the “C.” With another solid year, he was able to put himself in the Norris Trophy conversation as the league’s best defenseman.

It would also help his cause if the Sabers can remain competitive in a crowded Atlantic Division. In addition to the defending Stanley Cup champions the Panthers, hopeful contenders include the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins. It’s a monumental task for Buffalo, which is desperately trying to end the NHL’s longest playoff drought.

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