Buffalo Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin receives the maximum punishment for a dangerous play

Rasmus Dahlin trailed Anton Lundell down the ice, hounding the Panthers center into a turnover as the Sabres trailed by a goal in the third period on Monday night. It was a perfectly played defensive sequence, all but sure to catapult momentum back onto the side of the Buffalo team against the reigning Stanley Cup champions.

But just when that momentum seemed to swing firmly in Buffalo's favor, Dahlin lashed out with his stick and whacked Lundell in the face. A minor penalty was called, and Buffalo nearly dodged disaster when Jesper Boqvist skated in to retaliate, but Dahlin escalated the situation by throwing a punch. The move, which Dahlin later called a "stupid play," gave the Panthers a power play, and 95 seconds later Sam Bennett cashed in to extend Florida's lead.

Dahlin has now been fined $5,000 by the NHL's Department of Player Safety for that reckless play.

The Sabres, who fell to 4-5-1, had rallied from a 2-0 deficit and had a golden opportunity to get the equalizer on an early-period power play. Critical mistakes like this one, however, were too much to overcome against a near-full-strength Panthers team that pulled away for a 5-2 victory at KeyBank Center.