Buffalo Sabres Captain Rasmus Dahlin Drops The Gloves With Peyton Krebs In Practice Fight Following Hip Check

The new NHL season is only just getting underway, but frustrations appear to be boiling over for the Buffalo Sabres extra early this time around. This should be a period of relative optimism for most pro hockey teams. Alas, Sabres players Rasmus Dahlin and Peyton Krebs got into it at practice on Monday in a fight well-captured via throwback camcorder. https://twitter.com/SaraaHolland/status/1845845970807886280 I guess camcorders are still a thing, but this unique perspective has got me feeling all those nostalgia member berries for real. This is like a parent capturing an unexpected gem from their kid in the middle of little league hockey back in the day. Except this time it's grown men taking swings at each other. Coach Lindy Ruff confirmed that Dahlin was hit earlier in the practice and it wasn't a big deal.

Lindy Ruff says he wouldn’t look to far into this. Noted Dahlin got hit before and he wanted to even the score.

— Sara Holland (@SaraaHolland) October 14, 2024

Fighting is rather commonplace in hockey. It might be the only societal context in which you can get away with full-on battering somebody when it has nothing to do with the context of the game you're playing. Like yeah, of course in boxing or MMA you're going after somebody, but on the ice? It's just handling business. Rangers fan favorite Matt Rempe made quite an impression during his rookie season as a frequently fighting goon. It's sorta rare to see two teammates going at each other in such aggressive fashion as Dahlin and Krebs do. not saying that it doesn't happen, but it's rare for the fans to get to see it. Especially, this early in the season. As you can see from some of the comments, Sabres fans were surprised that Dahlin, the team captain, both threw the check, and then immediately went after Krebs right after it.

So Dahlin hit him that way and also went after him?

I like the energy, but why are you upset if you threw the check? — depressivehacks.eth (@depressivehacks) October 14, 2024

What is Dahlin doing making that hit in practice

— Alex Jones (@jonesalex91) October 14, 2024

The bottom line to me is hip checking your teammate in the open ice near the neutral zone is probably uncalled for. Probably didn't need to do that. It's bad enough when there's friendly fire out there and you get one of your guys hurt. When such a thing is 100% avoidable in a practice setting? That doesn't reflect well on the players involved, or the coaching staff, or just the Sabres' operation in general. However, my guess is that whatever message was being sent was received, they'll move on, bury it right there, and it'll be back to business. Buffalo has lost three of its first four games out of the gates. Not the best start in the Sabres' bid to snap a playoff berth drought that dates back to 2011. But hey, sometimes you need your Captain to drop the gloves and right the ship... maybe practice was the place to do that?