Sharpen Up: November 30, 2018

The winning streak is over.
The good times might only be beginning.
The Sabres had their franchise record-tying 10-game winning streak snapped with a 5-4 loss in Tampa on Thursday night. Tage Thompson scored to give Buffalo a lead at 2:29 in the third, but Steven Stamkos answered on the power play less than two minutes later and Cedric Paquette netted the winner with 5:41 remaining.

It was a back-and-forth bout between two teams that entered the night atop the Eastern Conference, and the Sabres once again hung in until the end. Alternate captain Kyle Okposo summed it up afterward.
"You could say a lot about our group and how we've grown. Tonight was no different," Okposo said. "There are some guys that haven't played in games like that and that was as close to a playoff game as you're going to get.
"I really liked the way that we hung in there and now we just have to make sure that we're moving on to the next game and we come out strong tomorrow."

The Sabres have a chance to rebound tonight in Sunrise against the Florida Panthers. Coverage on MSG-B begins at 6:30 p.m., with puck drop set for just after 7.
Phil Housley will provide pregame updates around 4:30 p.m., including status updates for Conor Sheary and Jake McCabe. The Sabres recalled defenseman Matt Tennyson from Rochester on Friday morning and placed Marco Scandella on injured reserve. If McCabe can't play, rookie Lawrence Pilut is also available.
Update (3:17 p.m.) -The Sabres have activated forward Patrik Berglund from injured reserve. Sheary (upper body) was placed on injured reserve in a corresponding move.

About last night

Jack Eichel had his sights set forward throughout the winning streak. Last night was no different.
From the Lexus Postgame Report:
In what felt like a heavyweight bout, the Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning traded blows, goals and saves Thursday night.
The Sabres' 10-game winning streak came to an end with a 5-4 loss to their divisional rival at Amalie Arena, but the team certainly didn't go down without a fight.
Cedric Paquette netted the winner with 5:41 left in the third period to put the Lightning ahead both in the game and in the league standings.
Sam Reinhart scored twice for Buffalo while Zemgus Girgensons and Tage Thompson also tallied. Carter Hutton made 32 saves as the Sabres were outshot 37-22 overall.
The Sabres' 10-game streak matched the franchise record set in 1983-84 and matched during the 2006-07 season. They have an opportunity to start another streak tomorrow night against the Florida Panthers.
"It shows us we can win every night we go out there and I think that should be our mindset no matter what," captain Jack Eichel said. "We're going out there to play against the best team in the league at home, whatever it may be. We should expect to win every night we go out on the ice."
"That's kind of the confidence you build through a winning streak like that. We built some camaraderie and some chemistry, and I thought, just that never-quit effort. You saw it again tonight. Obviously, we come up short but did a lot of good things."

Housley commented on the reality that, with their record, the Sabres will have to expect every team's best to start games going forward.
"They're going to be ready for us," Housley said. "They're going to look at our record, they're going to look at the streak that we had, being a top team right now. They're going to be ready to play us, so we've got to take that into consideration. But I think it's a great challenge. They should embrace that."

"That's just the way it is," Reinhart added. "When you go on a streak like that, teams are going to take notice and be ready for you. They certainly did tonight. We have another opportunity, another crack at it to get two more points [on Friday]."

Tonight's matchup

It will be the first of four meetings between the Sabres and Panthers this season. Florida is 1-3-1 in its last five games coming off a loss to Anaheim on Wednesday.
Jonathan Huberdeau leads the Panthers with 24 points (5+19), including 16 in his last 13 games. Offseason acquisition Mike Hoffman has tallied 23 points, including a team-high 12 goals.
One area in which the Panthers have excelled is the power play, where they rank seventh in the NHL at 25.8 percent. Defenseman Keith Yandle is tied for the NHL lead with 14 power-play points (3+11).
As for the Sabres, here are a few notes from Sabres PR:
• Jack Eichel recorded his 11th multi-point game of the season with two assists last night at Tampa Bay. Though 26 games, Eichel's 11 multi-point games tie for fourth-most in the league this season and leave him seven shy of his career high 18.
• Rasmus Dahlin has totaled nine points (1+8) with a plus-8 rating in his last 10 games, averaging 21:37 of ice time per game during that stretch.
• Tage Thompson enters tonight's game on a career-best three-game point streak (2+1).

Prospects Update

We spoke with Providence College defenseman Jacob Bryson (fourth round, 2017) about serving as co-captain as a junior, handling increased responsibilities on the ice and having his sights set on the Frozen Four in Buffalo.
The next step for Bryson, according to Providence coach Nate Leaman: "Being the best player in all the big games, every night."
You can read the full piece here.