Sharpen Up: February 10, 2021 | Sabres practice with 9 players absent

Welcome back to Sharpen Up.
The Buffalo Sabres are currently dealing with many COVID-related issues and we have the latest here for you. Nine players are currently in the NHL's COVID protocols, meaning they are unavailable for practice, travel or games. Head coach Ralph Krueger has also tested positive for COVID-19 and is protocol.
The team was cleared to practice yesterday. General manager Kevyn Adams also addressed the media. Scroll down for updates.
Here's what you need to know.

Latest on the schedule

The NHL announced Monday that Buffalo's games against the Washington Capitals on Thursday and Saturday would not be played at a later date.
A decision on the three teams' resumption of practice and game play will be made by the League's, NHLPA's and clubs' medical groups in the coming days.
The Capitals had their game against Philadelphia last night postponed because three Flyers players have entered protocol.
On Saturday, the NHL announced revisions to the 2020-21 calendar, including 12 rescheduled dates for Buffalo. That was after the Sabres (and other teams) had postponements due to COVID.
That schedule, of course, will need to be modified again to accommodate the two additional postponed games this week.
Stay with Sabres.com, our social media platforms and the Sabres app for the latest news on the schedule.

Practice recap

Buffalo took the ice for practice at KeyBank Center on Tuesday with 10 forwards and five defensemen.
Nine players - forwards Taylor Hall, Tobias Rieder, Dylan Cozens, Curtis Lazar, and Casey Mittelstadt along with defensemen Rasmus Ristolainen, Brandon Montour, Jake McCabe, and Rasmus Dahlin - were absent due to being in COVID protocol.
"COVID Protocol Related Absences" can be the result of a number of factors including, among others:
(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol;
(2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol;
(3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol;
(4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or;
(5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol.
No additional detail will be provided either by the League or the team, including the precise reason a player is unavailable or how long he might be out.
The Sabres did not have any additions to the list on Monday or Tuesday.

Adams, in accordance with NHL policy, did not specify which players have tested positive when he spoke with the media before practice, although he did say that some are symptomatic and others are not. Adams also provided an update on Sabres coach Ralph Krueger, who was announced as having tested positive last Thursday. Krueger immediately entered the NHL's protocol.
"Ralph is symptomatic," Adams said. "I've talked to him multiple times every day. I feel very comfortable that he's being looked after from our doctors and trainers. We'll have to see yet where we go from here as we get into next week. We certainly hope that Ralph's asymptomatic and comes out of the protocols and he's ready to go when we play our next game."
The Sabres had not practiced since shutting down its facilities last Tuesday as the result of multiple additions to the NHL's COVID-related absence list. They last played on Sunday, Jan. 31 at home against the New Jersey Devils, who entered that game with six players in COVID protocol. Nineteen Devils are currently in protocol.
Buffalo's next scheduled game is Monday at 7 p.m. against the New York Islanders at KeyBank Center.

More from the GM

We have a full recap here, but here are some of the highlights of Adams' press conference:
Adams said he has not had conversations with the NHL about shortening the 56-game schedule, though he did say there is potential to push games further into May.
"I do know from conversations with Gary Bettman and Bill Daly, it's critical they feel the integrity of the season is there," Adams said. "So, that's not been brought up to me or anyone else in our organization about anything different than 56 games. But we'll react. If anything changes, we'll adjust and we'll do our best to move to the next whatever we're told to do."
Adams said the NHL is continuing to learn and adapt as situations present themselves and the Sabres will follow suit.
"We're going to adhere to every single protocol that the NHL puts in front of us," Adams said. "We've already done some of that as to prepare for this day to be ready. We all want the same thing. We all want our players to be safe, we all want our staff to be safe and healthy but … it's not just about the home locker room, it's what happens when you go on the road - what other measures can you take and what other measures the organization can take.
"As recently as a couple of hours ago I talked to our equipment manager to ask what other teams in our division are doing and how are we not just worrying about ourselves at home but what's being done when we go on the road. We owe that to each other, we owe that as a National Hockey League, as a group we owe that to each other within the group, to make sure that we're also putting players that come into our building in the best possible position to stay safe."
We'll have more from Buffalo's practice later today so keep an eye out for that.