Sharpen Up: December 3, 2018

It's a game night in Nashville.
The Sabres will look to conclude their three-game road trip with a win over the Predators, who sit tied atop the Western Conference standings with 37 points. After that, they return to KeyBank Center to kick off a four-game homestand against Toronto on Tuesday.
That's some schedule, but Phil Housley knows better than to look past his former team in Music City.

"It's going to be difficult," Housley said after practice on Sunday. "Nashville's got a lot of injuries, but they're still a good hockey team. They have good goaltending. But then flying after this game and then losing an hour on top of that, it's going to be tough because Toronto's going to be rested, they're going to be waiting for us. But we've got to focus on Nashville first."

Housley will provide injury updates after the team's morning skate, slated to begin around 12:30 p.m. EST. Conor Sheary and Jake McCabe are possibilities to return from their respective injuries, while Jason Pominville and Marco Scandella have been sent home for further evaluations.
Rasmus Ristolainen was absent from Sunday's practice for a maintenance day but is expected to play.
Here's what you need to know before the Sabres hit the ice in Nashville.

Dahlin named Rookie of the Month

Rasmus Dahlin was honored as the NHL's Rookie of the Month for November on Saturday, capping a month that saw the 18-year-old defenseman's production raise along with his responsibilities on the back end.
From the Ice Level Practice Report:
His ice time per game has increased 56 seconds on average to 19:54 from October to November, and he's been up over 23 minutes in four of the last five games. He skated a career-high 25:51 on Thursday against Tampa.
There's also been an uptick in offensive production. He recorded a goal and nine assists over the 15 games played last month, including few dazzling plays like this assist on Jake McCabe's goal on Nov. 17 at Minnesota:

"I think more offense because I'm more comfortable with the puck. If you're comfortable, it's easy to have confidence," Dahlin said after practice at Centennial Sportsplex.
Read the full story for more on Dahlin, as well as notes on the Sabres' tough stretch and their lineup at practice on Sunday.

It's World Juniors season …

Preliminary rosters are being announced for the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship, which will be held in British Columbia beginning on Dec. 26. Sabres prospects Oskari Laaksonen, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Finland) and Matej Pekar (Czech Republic) were named to their countries' camp rosters on Sunday.
Laaksonen (third round; 2017) has taken on big-time minutes on the back end during his first full Liiga season, pacing all Ilves skaters with an average ice time of 20:41 and putting up 13 points (3+10) in the process. Luukkonen (second round; 2017) ranks fourth among OHL goalies with a .922 save percentage in 22 games for Sudbury.
Pekar has also excelled in his first OHL season, putting up 30 points (10+20) in 27 games for Barrie. Check out our conversation with Sabres assistant general manager Steve Greeley about Laaksonen, Luukkonen and Pekar from October.

Tonight's matchup

The Predators lost forward Filip Forsberg to an upper-body injury during a 5-2 win over Chicago on Saturday. Forsberg joins forwards Viktor Arvidsson and Kyle Turris on the team's injured reserve list, along with defenseman P.K. Subban.
Still, the Predators don't lack for talent. Ryan Johansen leads the team with 23 points (5+18), while Nashville's defense corps has contributed a league-best 71 points (13+58). Pekka Rinne has been his usual self in net, leading all NHL goaltenders with a 1.86 goals-against average (minimum five starts).
Second-year forward Eeli Tolvanen - who made his NHL debut against the Sabres last season - was recalled last week and scored his first NHL goal on Saturday.
As for the Sabres, well, they don't lack talent either. Some notes from Sabres PR:
- Jack Eichel recorded his 12th multi-point game of the season with two assists on Friday at Florida. Through 27 games, Eichel's 12 multi-point games tie for fourth-most in the league this season and leave him six shy of his career high 18.

• Buffalo's 11-3-1 (.767) record in November gave the team its best points percentage in a month since April 2011 (4-0-1, .900). It was the Sabres' best full month since Oct. 2009 (8-2-1, .773).

• Jeff Skinner scored 15 goals in 15 games during November to join Rick Martin in 1972-73 as just the second player ever to score 20 goals for the Sabres before December.

• Carter Hutton was 8-3-0 with a .923 save percentage in 11 appearances in November, including a career-best eight-game winning streak from Nov. 8 to 27.