Sharpen Up: October 21, 2018

The Sabres are 2-2-0 on the road trip and have the chance to end it on a winning note tonight when they take on the Anaheim Ducks.
Faceoff is set for 8 p.m. ET, but please be sure to join Brian Duff, Martin Biron, Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray on the GMC Game Night pregame show starting at 7:30 on MSG. Dan and Rob will also call the action once the puck drops on WGR 550.
Here's what you need to know.

Tonight's matchup

From @SabresPR's Game Notes…

About yesterday afternoon

It was a good day for the new top line of Jack Eichel, Jeff Skinner and Jason Pominville in L.A. From the Lexus Postgame Report...
Somewhere, in the hours leading up to his first game as a Laker in Los Angeles, LeBron James might have caught word of the performance Jeff Skinner and his linemates put on at Staples Center and thought, Man, that's a tough act to follow.
Skinner scored a hat trick to lead the Sabres to a 5-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings, bringing them to 2-2-0 with a game to go on their Pacific Division road trip and 4-4-0 on the season.

"It was a little bit light here to start the game," Sabres captain Jack Eichel said afterward. "It filled out, but I guess that's what happens when you're playing at 12:30 in L.A. and LeBron's after you. Skins put on a pretty good performance, so I think The King's going to have to do pretty good to beat him."
Pominville opened the scoring with a first-period goal and added two assists to reach 700 career points. Eichel tallied three assists, winning battles along the boards and near the net to create opportunities for his linemates.

Linus Ullmark came 7:34 shy of his second shutout in row (broken by a power-play goal from Drew Doughty).

Zach Bogosian scored the team's fourth goal on a night in which he also fought L.A.'s Kyle Clifford. That goal was made possible by a screen from Patrik Berglund, who had been scratched in San Jose on Thursday.

"One of the best games overall, right?" coach Phil Housley said. "From coming out of our own end to forechecking and attacking up the rush. Our checking detail was great, but our movement was so good tonight. It's very evident that when we move the puck and it's crisp, we're a fast team. Give credit to our D."

A One Buffalo kind of day

• The Sabres and the Buffalo Bills are playing on the same day for the first of three times this season after doing so twice last season. The other occurrences are Nov. 4 and Dec. 16.
• The teams have played on the same date 217 times, with both teams winning their respective games on 48 of those days.
• The Sabres are 116-67-34 when playing on a Bills game day and the Bills enter this game 92-123-2 on those dates.
• The last time the Sabres and Bills both won on the same date was Oct. 16, 2016.

Amerks fall in OT

Watch: Youtube Video
From the Amerks.com recap...
The Rochester Americans' (5-2-1-0) bid for a sixth straight victory came up short as Chase Balisy of the Belleville Senators (3-3-0-0) scored his second goal of the night just 14 seconds into overtime to give the hosts a 5-4 victory Saturday night at the CAA Arena.
Despite the overtime loss, the Amerks earned a point for the sixth consecutive contest to maintain their lead atop the American Hockey League's North Division standings.
Wayne Simpson led the Amerks with a multi-point night (1+1) while Rochester's remaining offense was provided by defensemen, most notably from rookies Brandon Hickey and Will Borgen, who each scored their first professionals goals in the first and third periods, respectively.
Fellow blueliner Brendan Guhle rounded out the team's scoring with his second goal in as many nights. Netminder Adam Wilcox was handed his first overtime loss of the season after starting 2-0-0 in his first two appearances in the blue paint.
Wilcox shows a record of 4-0-2 in his last six games dating back to the end of the 2017-18 campaign.
The Amerks return home for the start of another three-game homestand on Friday, Oct. 26 when they host Utica Comets for a North Division showdown at The Blue Cross Arena. Game time is slated for a 7:05 p.m. start and can be heard live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM ESPN Rochester. The contest can also be viewed on AHLTV.