Sharpen Up: All the Sabres news you need to know on February 27, 2020

The Sabres will continue their Western Conference tomorrow night in Las Vegas.
Following last night's 3-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, they'll return to practice today. Then they'll face the Golden Knights on Friday to open up a back-to-back set that will conclude Saturday night against the Arizona Coyotes.
Kyle Okposo extended his point streak, Zemgus Girgensons and Curtis Lazar scored, and Carter Hutton made 31 saves.
Here's what you need to know.

A look back at last night

From our Postgame Report…
Ralph Krueger felt proud of the resolve he saw from his hockey club.
The Buffalo Sabres twice erased one-goal deficits during their 3-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday. They came mere inches from tying the score a third time during the game's final minute.
It was the sort of loss, Krueger said, that a team might feel OK about early in the season. But at a time when every game feels like a playoff game for the Sabres, the prevailing feeling afterward was pain.
"There's a lot to take with us here for how we need to play on the road and into Las Vegas," Krueger said. "But, right now, all that's at the surface is the pain."

It was physical, fast-paced contest worthy of the stakes that surrounded it. The Avalanche pulled ahead twice in the first two periods on power-play goals from Gabriel Landeskog and Martin Kaut. The Sabres responded each time, receiving goals from Zemgus Girgensons and Curtis Lazar.
Lazar's goal, scored with 5:04 remaining in the second period, sent the teams into the second intermission deadlocked at two goals apiece.
"We were right here," said forward Michael Frolik, who assisted on Lazar's goal. "We were in a great spot after two periods and we just said in the room, 'Let's go get it.'"
The Sabres had plenty of chances to take the lead. Kyle Okposo, after earlier setting up Girgensons' goal, had a chance alone in front that went high over the net. Jack Eichel had a deflection swallowed by Avalanche goaltender Pavel Francouz.

The chances continued to come even after J.T. Compher scored to put the Avalanche ahead, 3-2, with 8:06 remaining. The Sabres killed a late hooking penalty against Brandon Montour, pulled goalie Carter Hutton with 1:30 remaining and went on one last offensive.
Victor Olofsson came closest to tying the game. He took a one-time shot from point-blank range that hit the inside of the post, bounced off the back of Francouz and drifted through the crease, it's path going just wide of the net. He had another one-time attempt stopped by the goaltender's pad.
Read the full recap here.
Wayne Simmonds made his Sabres debut. Buffalo traded a conditional fifth-round pick to New Jersey for the forward on Monday. He skated 12:53 - including 1:03 on the power play - and recorded one shot and three hits.
Dominik Kahun, Buffalo's other Deadline Day acquisition, did not play due to a lower-body injury. He sat out his final two games as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins with the injury. He is day-to-day.

Sabres Memories

Here's another new episode of Sabres Memories presented by BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York.
Tony McKegney, who made his NHL debut in 1978, shares what it was like to be a black professional hockey player during that time:

McKegney scored 127 goals in 363 games with the Sabres, including 36- and 37-goal campaigns. He ended up playing 912 games over 13 years in the NHL.

Amerks fall in shootout

Watch: Youtube Video
From the Amerks.com Game Recap…
The Rochester Americans (30-17-4-5) forced overtime yet again with a goal in the final minute of regulation to extend their point streak to six games, but the Utica Comets (30-20-3-2) survived the comeback as they stole the extra point with a 3-2 shootout win Wednesday at The Blue Cross Arena.
Despite the shootout loss, the Amerks, who have earned nine out of a possible 12 points in the last six games, hold a four-point lead over the Comets for second place in the AHL's North Division standings. Rochester has collected at least one point in 19 of the last 25 games against Utica dating back to the start of the 2017-18 campaign, going 13-6-2-4 over that span.
Forward C.J. Smith notched his sixth multi-point outing of the slate as he registered an assist on goals from both Casey Mittelstadt and Scott Wilson, whose 10th of the season with 28 seconds remaining in the third period sent the contest into overtime. Alternate captain and veteran defenseman Zach Redmond appeared in his 500th professional game. Goaltender Andrew Hammond (14-11-3) stopped 25 of the 27 shots he faced, including four saves in the shootout, but suffered the defeat.
Facing a one-goal deficit with 2:06 left in regulation, and a face-off in the Comets end of the ice, Amerks head coach Chris Taylor used his lone timeout and pulled Hammond for the extra attacker. After Brett Murray dug the puck out behind DiPietro, Andrew Oglevie set-up Smith atop the point. Smith attempted a shot, but with traffic in front, it kicked out right to Wilson and he buried it to tie the game at 2-2 with just under 30 seconds remaining.
"It was a good sign being able to score in the last 30 seconds," Smith said. "It was a way to show some grit. It was a bounce in our direction and now we just have to keep finishing games and earning points."
In the overtime period, both Hammond and DiPietro made several key saves and the shootout was needed.
The Amerks elected to shoot first, but Taylor Leier, Oglevie, Mittelstadt, Sean Malone and Lawrence Pilut all were denied by DiPietro. After stopping Rafferty, former Amerk Justin Bailey, Reid Boucher and Kole Lind were all stopped before Baertschi converted in the fifth round, giving Utica a 3-2 victory.