Sharpen Up: November 8, 2021 | Sabres are on the road again tonight

It's a game night in the nation's capital. The Sabres are on the road to face Washington tonight.
Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. on MSG and WGR 550 with pregame covering on MSG getting underway at 6:30.
We have a recap of everything you missed over the weekend.
Here's what you need to know.

Sunday's practice

Sabres.com's Jourdon LaBarber has the story:
Rasmus Asplund has tallied points in six straight games following a two-assist effort against Detroit on Saturday. His 10 points (4+6) in 11 contests this season lead the Sabres.
The production is a result of the 23-year-old forward's development into an all-situations player. He ranks fifth among Sabres forwards in shorthanded ice time and fourth on the team in power-play ice time. His overall average ice time of 17:37 ranks second among forwards behind linemate Tage Thompson.

"He internalizes all that very well and targets what he's capable of doing in any role given," Sabres coach Don Granato said. "First line, fourth line, power play, penalty kill. Those are all different situations that you need to know what needs to be executed. What role is the coaching staff putting me in right now? Who are my linemates? What's the score of the game? What's my skillset? What can I bring here and what moment can I bring it?
"He's not trying to force his skillset on the game. He's reading within a situation when he can jump, when his skillset matches that potential opportunity. And that's maturity. We're watching a player mature in front of all our eyes."

Victor Olofsson remained absent and did not travel with the team to Washington for its game against the Capitals on Monday. Olofsson, who leads the Sabres with five goals, has missed three contests with an injury he sustained during practice last Monday.
Craig Anderson also remains day to day with an upper-body injury and did not travel, either.
For the full report and line combinations, click here.

Tonight's matchup

From @SabresPR's Game Notes:
The Caps are 5-2-4 this season and currently hold the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference with 14 points.
Alex Ovechkin enters tonight's game two goals shy of passing Brett Hull (741) for fourth on the NHL's all-time goals list. He leads the club - and is third in the NHL - with 18 points (10+8) through 11 games.

A recap of Saturday's game

Let's take a quick look back at what happened Saturday.
From the Postgame Report for you:
Tyler Bertuzzi scored a pair of late goals to snatch a victory from the Buffalo Sabres, who fell 4-3 in overtime to the Detroit Red Wings at KeyBank Center on Saturday.
The Sabres led 3-1 when Bertuzzi scored his first goal with 6:36 remaining in regulation. He deked past the defense for the tying goal 90 seconds later. Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider scored his first NHL goal to win the game at 2:45 of overtime.
Buffalo was attempting to snap a three-game losing streak, an element that defenseman Rasmus Dahlin felt crept into the team's performance as it tried to nail down the victory.

"We really, really wanted to win," Dahlin said. "That maybe came in our head and forced some plays. Obviously, they did a great job there. But as time goes on, we got to work on it. We'll be better, for sure."
Sabres coach Don Granato echoed Dahlin's assessment. Bertuzzi crept into open space at the bottom edge of the right faceoff circle for his first goal, a one-time shot fed across by Danny DeKeyser.
"We just slid out of position and created, opened a seam, which is uncharacteristic," Granato said. "So, you could look at it, say we must have been tight. It could be the only explanation for it. Because it was a simple coverage that we've done over and over and over."
Read the full recap here.

Celebrating Val James

The Sabres honored Val James and the 40th anniversary of his NHL debut during Saturday's game. On November 1, 1981, James became the first Black American player to skate in an NHL game when he suited up for the Sabres against the Philadelphia Flyers.
During pregame warmups, the team wore custom black jerseys featuring the "Breaking Barriers" logo designed last season by local artist Edreys Wajed as the crest.

Wajed joined the pregame show to talk about the design process and what it meant to see his logo worn on NHL jerseys:

Warmup pucks with the "Breaking Barriers" logo were used by both teams, and coaches and broadcasters wore special lapel pins with the logo during the game.

The Sabres donated 100 tickets to local youth organizations, including the Buffalo Police Athletic League, Breaking Barriers, Girls Sports Foundation, Hasek's Heroes and Confident Girl Mentoring, to the game.

The Buffalo Sabres Foundation also donated $10,000 to the Buffalo Police Athletic League Can-Ice Learn to Skate program, which includes the installation of a new synthetic ice rink located at the Hennepin Community Center in James' honor. The rink will be operated by Buffalo PAL and will be used to provide kids in the city with an opportunity to learn to skate and play hockey, many for the first time.

Born in Florida and raised on Long Island, where he learned to skate as a teenager, James developed a reputation as one of the toughest fighters in professional hockey.
James played in 10 NHL games - including three in the Stanley Cup Playoffs - with Buffalo in 1981-82, and another four regular-season games with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1986-87.
In 1983, he scored the goal that clinched the Calder Cup Trophy for the Rochester Americans.
James wrote about his experiences and struggles in his autobiography, "Black Ice," with John Gallagher.

Alex Tuch is in Buffalo

The newest member of the Buffalo Sabres met with the media before the game on Saturday. The 25-year-old power forward was acquired with forward Peyton Krebs and draft picks in the deal that sent Jack Eichel to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.

From our story on Saturday:
Alex Tuch stood behind the podium for a press conference, not a quiz show. Yet the newest Buffalo Sabres forward could not help but prove his affinity for the team he grew up watching while meeting with the media inside KeyBank Center on Saturday.

Tuch paused mid-answer to rattle off names of Sabres players from the mid-2000s, from Daniel Briere and Chris Drury to Andrew Peters and Jochen Hecht. He paid homage to Alexander Mogilny, the last Sabres play to wear No. 89 until Tuch makes his debut with the team. He reminisced on growing up next door to Tim Connolly in Syracuse and wearing black and red games to games with his dad.
"I mean, I was a big Sabres fan growing up," Tuch said. "I loved watching those guys."

He admitted it was difficult to say goodbye to the friends he had made during his four seasons in Vegas but told Adams it was a dream come true to play for Buffalo.
"They love their sports here and they love their Buffalo Sabres," he said. "I'm really excited to play for a fanbase like this. I mean, I was very thankful to play in Vegas where they really embraced us, the entire city embraced us. But coming to Buffalo, it's gonna be like none other."
Read more here.