Sharpen Up: March 15, 2018

Buffalo and Toronto are back at it tonight at KeyBank Center. The Maple Leafs are coming off a 6-5 shootout win against Dallas last night (James van Riemsdyk recorded a hat trick) while the Sabres have not played since Saturday.
Jack Eichel has taken part in two practices with the team, but he will not play tonight. However, all of our big names on the broadcast will be in action. Duffer and Marty will kick it off with the GMC Game Night pregame show at 6:30 p.m. on MSG. Then, RJ will call the action with Rayzor at 7 on MSG and WGR 550, and Dan will be on hand as well to conduct in-game interviews.
Here's what you need to know.

Yesterday's practice

From the Ice Level Practice Report…
The Sabres held a lengthy practice session at HarborCenter for the second day in a row after having had Sunday and Monday off. Tuesday marked Eichel's first practice with the team since sustaining his injury on Feb. 10, and he was pleased with the response from his ankle.
"It was a good practice yesterday, for sure," he said. "I think it was probably one of the hardest practices we've had and obviously coming off of an off day and not skating for four and a half weeks, it was tough. But I felt good this morning. … I felt better today than I did yesterday, and I think that's what you want to look at for the positives.
You just want to take a step forward every day and I thought I did that today."

Evan Rodrigues and Seth Griffith also participated in practice for the second day in a row as both forwards work their way back from upper-body injuries. Housley said he expects Rodrigues, who has missed the last five games, to return to the lineup on Thursday.
Rodrigues had tallied nine points (4+5) in his last 11 games prior to sustaining his injury, including goals in back-to-back contests. He's scored a career-high 16 points (6+10) in 35 games with Buffalo this season.
Justin Bailey was recalled from the Amerks yesterday and he'll likely be back in the lineup tonight after scoring in Saturday's game.

Tonight's matchup

From the Game Notes...
- Sam Reinhart has totaled 25 points (10+15) in his last 25 games. Reinhart has also posted nine points (2+7) in his last nine games against Toronto, including at least a point in each of the last four (2+4). - Johan Larsson has recorded nine points (4+5) in eight career games against the Maple Leafs. - Rasmus Ristolainen has 24 points (6+18) in his last 32 games dating back to Dec. 29. Ristolainen's 24 points during that span tied for 10th among NHL defensemen entering play Wednesday. - Ryan O'Reilly has recorded 13 points (3+10) in his last 14 games. - Robin Lehner has logged a .946 save percentage in his last three games.

Today in Sabres history

2008: In a 6-2 win at Toronto, Ales Kotalik scores his 100th goal as a Sabre and Jason Pominville tallies three points (1+2) to break his previous season high of 68 on the way to a career-best 80 points. Pominville has faced off with the Maple Leafs 51 times as a member of the Sabres, totaling 50 points (19+31) in those matchups.

Coming up

The Instigators are off for bonus football coverage, but they have a story to share before they return on Friday:

We'll also have full coverage of the morning skate and postgame coverage for you when it comes to tonight's game.

Emily Pfalzer will be in town this weekend

Buffalo's gold medalist Emily Pfalzer will be recognized by both the Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Beauts as part of their games on Saturday.
She'll join the GMC Game Night pregame show on Saturday for a special interview and then take part in a ceremonial faceoff prior to the Sabres' 1 p.m. game against the Blackhawks at KeyBank Center.
Then, she'll sign autographs for Beauts fans from 4:45 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. on Level 7 at HarborCenter as well as conduct the ceremonial opening faceoff prior to the Beauts' 5:30 p.m. semifinal playoff game against the Boston Pride.
And to cap off the weekend, Pfalzer will march in Buffalo's 78th Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade with Mayor Byron Brown on Sunday.
A Getzville native and Nichols alumna, Pfalzer won the women's hockey gold medal with Team USA at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. She was the captain of the Buffalo Beauts in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, leading the team to the 2017 Isobel Cup championship.