Sharpen Up: March 25, 2022 | Sabres face Capitals at home tonight

It's a White Hot Friday: Throwback Edition.
The Buffalo Sabres will wear their Heritage Classic jerseys tonight when they take on the Washington Capitals at 7 p.m. at KeyBank Center. Tickets are on sale now.
Pregame coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. Martin Biron will be on location at Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino with Dave Andreychuk, Dave Snuggerud and Craig Rivet for a meet and greet with fans.
Rick Jeanneret and Rob Ray will call the action on MSG and WGR 550.
Here's what you need to know.

Yesterday's practice

From the Practice Report:
Mattias Samuelsson took the ice for the opening faceoff on Wednesday, matched up against the Pittsburgh Penguins' top forward line centered by Sidney Crosby.
It was at once a foreshadowing moment and a reminder of how far Samuelsson has cpme in the 11 months since he made his NHL debut against Pittsburgh last April. He shared the ice with Crosby for just over two minutes that night.
"My debut was definitely a lot of nerves and overwhelming to be on the ice with those guys," he said. "And now playing a handful of games and playing against top guys on every team, I think I've proven to myself I could do it and proved to the coaching staff I can handle it."
Samuelsson was Crosby's primary matchup during Buffalo's shootout win over Pittsburgh on Wednesday. The Sabres held a 7-4 advantage in shot attempts in 9:04 when Samuelsson and Crosby shared the ice at 5-on-5. Samuelsson finished the night with an assist and a plus-3 rating.
The performance was yet another example of why Sabres coach Don Granato lauds the 22-year-old as a major piece of the team's future, even on a defense corps that could soon feature a pair of No. 1 overall picks in Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power.

"He has taken a lot of pressure off our defense because he has been so effective," Granato said Wednesday. "He can be a No. 1 penalty killer, we can throw him over the boards first, he covers a lot of shot to be blocked, he covers a range of pucks near his quadrant.
"So, he is a big difference in how our team has played. He's been a stabilizer killing plays quicker, transitioning plays quicker. He's a big part of why we've been able to be better and better as we've moved along through the season."
For line combinations and more, click here.

Tonight's matchup

From the Game Notes:
• This is the third and final meeting between the Sabres and Capitals this season.
• Last meeting: Washington defeated Buffalo 3-2 (SO) in Buffalo on Dec. 11, 2021.
• The Sabres are 2-6-2 in their last 10 games against the Capitals; 3-6-1 at home.
• This is the 174th game all-time between Buffalo and Washington; Buffalo has a 92-58-23 series record.
• The Sabres are 49-27-10 at home against the Capitals all-time.
• With a 4-3 shootout victory over Pittsburgh on Wednesday night, the Sabres have won each of their last three games, the club's longest streak since it started the season 3-0-0 with wins over Montreal (Oct. 14), Arizona, (Oct. 16) and Vancouver (Oct. 19).
• A victory tonight would give Buffalo its first win streak of at least four games since its 10-game winning streak from Nov. 8 to 27, 2018.
• With two goals on Wednesday night against Pittsburgh, Tage Thompson tallied his sixth multi-goal game this season. Only nine NHL players had more multi-goal games this season entering play Thursday.

• Thompson has six points (4+2) in his last five games and 19 points (11+8), along with a plus-5 rating, in his last 15 contests at home.
• Thompson is tied for sixth in the NHL with 19 goals in home games this season. Only five Sabres have recorded 20 or more goals at home in a season since 2005-06: Thomas Vanek, 30 (2006-07), Jack Eichel, 26 (2019-20), Jeff Skinner, 21 (2018-19), Chris Drury, 20 (2006-07) and Derek Roy, 20 (2007- 08).
• Rasmus Dahlin has recorded 15 points (2+13) in his last 16 home games.
• Vinnie Hinostroza has four points (2+2) in his last three home games.

• In his last three home games, Peyton Krebs has three goals and holds a plus-3 rating.
• Kyle Okposo has three assists in his last three home games.
• Mattias Samuelsson has two assists and a plus-7 rating in his last three home games. o Samuelsson holds a plus-6 rating in his last six games overall.
• In his last five starts, Craig Anderson is 4-1-0 with a .913 save percentage and a 2.75 goals-against average.
• Anderson has made 30-plus saves in four of his last five games.
• Anderson has allowed two goals or less in three of his last five games.

NCAA tournament preview

Five Sabres prospects will hit the ice for NCAA tournament action today.
Devon Levi, the standout goaltender for Northeastern, will make his tournament debut when the Huskies go up against Western Michigan at noon.
Owen Power and Erik Portillo of Michigan will take on American International at 3 p.m.
And Ryan Johnson and Aaron Huglen of Minnesota face UMass at 6 p.m.
All of those games will air on ESPNU.
Freshman forward Matteo Costantini (a fifth-round pick by Buffalo in 2020) and North Dakota were eliminated by Notre Dame 2-1 in overtime yesterday. Costantini recorded one shot on goal.
Read more about each prospect here.

Meet and Greet details

Final Four voting ends Sunday

We're coming down to the wire in Rick Jeanneret's Best Call bracket.
From now until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, fans can choose between:

May Day vs. Call A Cop
and

Scary Good vs. We Are Not Worthy
Cast your votes now!
Fans who vote in each round will be entered to win great prizes, including:
Winners will be notified at the conclusion of the final round of voting.

Tickets for RJ Night on April 1, which will feature a pregame banner ceremony, are on sale now.

Steve Dietrich on 'The Instigators Overtime'

The Buffalo Bandits general manager chatted with Brian Duff and Martin Biron about his NLL club's 10-1 start:

Stream or download all episodes here.