Sharpen Up: April 3, 2023 | Sabres are 5 points out of Wild Card spot

The Buffalo Sabres are riding a five-game point streak (4-0-1) into the week as the final month of the regular season is upon us.
The Sabres will take on the Florida Panthers on Tuesday at FLA Live Arena. Faceoff is at 7 p.m. on MSG and WGR 550 with pregame coverage starting at 6:30.
Florida and Buffalo are hot on the heels of the Islanders and Penguins, who currently hold the two Wild Card playoff berths in the Eastern Conference.
Here's what you need to know.

Last week's big story

The Sabres went 2-0-1 last week to gain ground in the Wild Card standings.

Devon Levi made his NHL debut between the pipes in Friday's 3-2 overtime win over the New York Rangers. Jeff Skinner scored the game-winning goal.
"I learned a lot from this game. I thought I played well. I definitely know what I can improve on," Levi said afterwards. "I feel like I have more and I feel like I've been growing every day. I think this is a start to me kind of improving every single day and helping these guys hopefully go on a playoff run. That's kind of the goal.
"I'm just going to be working as hard as I can to be ready for the call and if I get the call I'm going to do everything I can to give these guys the best chance to win."
Read the full Postgame Report here.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen then made 39 saves in Saturday's 6-3 victory in Philadelphia. Alex Tuch recorded his second hat trick of the season to hit the 35-goal mark.
Tage Thompson missed both games due to an upper-body injury so Casey Mittelstadt filled his role as the center on the top line. Mittelstadt recorded two assists on Friday and added three more on Saturday.
"He's a guy who has really kind of gone under the radar. He's done a nice job for us," Sabres coach Don Granato said. "Obviously now he gets a chance to play with Tuch and a chance to play with (Jeff) Skinner and you can see his skillset shine a little brighter."
Check out the Postgame Report from Saturday here.

The games ahead

The road trip will conclude on Thursday with a game in Detroit.
Buffalo will then head back home for a 12:30 p.m. matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes at KeyBank Center. Tickets are on sale now.
The Sabres have just seven games left on the schedule and five of them are on the road. Buffalo is tied for sixth in non-shootout road wins this season (21) and ranks 10th in the NHL with a .653 points percentage in away games.

What else to watch for this week

The final round of voting for the Rick Martin Memorial Award opens Tuesday and runs through the game on Saturday.
After an initial round of voting that closed on Sunday, the team will reveal this year's three finalists for "The Rico" tomorrow here on Sabres.com and the club's official social media channels.
Last year, Kyle Okposo won the award, which recognizes the player that fans believe best exemplifies what it means to be a Sabre through on-ice excellence, resiliency, and dedication to the community.