Sharpen Up: March 6, 2021 | Adams addresses media amid tough stretch

Guess what? It's another Buffalo Sabres game day on Long Island.
The Sabres will play the New York Islanders today at 1 p.m. at Nassau Coliseum. Catch the game on MSG and WGR 550 where Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray will have the call. Pregame coverage starts at 12:30 on MSG with Brian Duff and Martin Biron.
The Sabres are coming off a 5-2 loss to the Islanders on Thursday and are 2-8-1 since returning from a two-week, COVID-induced pause on Feb. 15.
General manager Kevyn Adams spoke to the media about the team's struggles and his assessment of the season so far. Keep scrolling for more on that.
Here's what you need to know.

'We need to be better'

Adams put in a lengthy session with the Buffalo media yesterday and fielded questions on topics ranging from coach Ralph Krueger's job status to culture to plans on upgrading the roster.
"I don't think we've been competitive enough in all areas of the ice," Adams said. "I think we've shown pockets of it, we've shown glimpses at different times but not a consistent hunger and battle and competitiveness through the games.
"To be honest with you, I think the data would back this up, we give up too many Grade A scoring chances, which means we're not hard enough in our defensive zone and we're not creating enough Grade A scoring chances in the offensive zone, which means we're not hungry enough to get to the net and we're not competing enough. That's battle and will, right? So, we have to be better in those areas."
We have a summary of his Q&A here. You can also watch the full availability above.

Friday's practice

Following that aforementioned loss to New York two days ago, the Sabres practiced on Friday. We have more in yesterday's Practice Report.
One notable change to the lines occurred: Dylan Cozens skated on a line with Taylor Hall and Jack Eichel, offering a glimpse of what we could see when the Sabres continue their three-game series with the Islanders on Saturday.
"He quite clearly is becoming very quickly an important centerpiece of what we want to build on here as we move forward," Krueger said of Cozens. "He has completely taken on the culture on and off the ice that we are striving to embed in everybody as a habit. You will see him up the lineup again tomorrow."

The Sabres have also been impressed by what they've seen so far from rookie defenseman Jacob Bryson.
Bryson skated a season-high 24:10 against the New York Islanders on Tuesday, his fifth NHL game. The 23-year-old defenseman has continued to exude confidence not only with his willingness to join the rush, but with his poise under pressure in his own end.
"Whether it's on retrievals on our end, when he's trying to solve pressure or when he's at the blue line and he's getting a winger closing on him extremely quickly, he's so calm and cool," Krueger said. "He's got his head up all the time and makes the right decision.
"We're extremely pleased with his puck management. The same thing is going on without the puck. Whenever there is a transition of any sort, we lose possession, he is able to read his gaps and take those gaps really quickly and also in the D zone he always falls back to the good ice and works from there without really any sort of panic."

Check out yesterday's Practice Report for a recap of what happened on the ice Friday.

Today's matchup

Let's look at the Game Notes from @SabresPR…
- Taylor Hall has recorded 19 points (10+9) in 20 games against the Islanders dating back to the beginning of the 2013-14 season. - Jack Eichel has totaled 11 points (3+8) in 12 meetings with the Islanders since the beginning of the 2017-18 season. - Victor Olofsson has three points (2+1), all on the power-play, in four career road games against the Islanders. Olofsson scored the first goal of his NHL career against the Islanders March 30, 2019.