Sharpen Up: February 23, 2021 | 2nd game against Devils marks trip's end

The Buffalo Sabres looked like they were on track to earn at least a point last night on the road against the New York Islanders. But the Islanders capitalized on a later power-play opportunity, resulting in a 3-2 win for them and what Sabres coach Ralph Krueger called "probably the most painful loss of the season."
They'll look to turn things around quickly as they face the New Jersey Devils tonight to close out the four-game road trip. Faceoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. from Prudential Center on MSG and WGR 550. Pregame coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. on MSG.
Here's what you need to know.

Injury report

The Sabres are dealing with some injuries, and they're particularly hurting on defense right now.
Before last night's game, the team announced that following an MRI, alternate captain Jake McCabe sustained injuries to in his right knee to his ACL, MCL and meniscus in Saturday's game. Recovery time is between six and eight months.
Defenseman Will Borgen also missed the game with an upper-body injury, but could be available tonight.
And Rasmus Ristolainen has missed the past five games as he recovers from severe COVID-related symptoms. He is out of protocol, but there is not timetable for his return.
Before faceoff, the team recalled defenseman Brandon Davidson and forward Casey Mittelstadt from the taxi squad, and both suited up on Long Island. Mittelstadt took the place of Jeff Skinner. Tage Thompson was also a healthy scratch.
Then during last night's game, Buffalo lost forward Tobias Rieder late in the first period to an injury. No update was provided on his status afterwards. If he misses any time, Skinner and Thompson would among those both be available and ready to step in. Rasmus Asplund is also an option off the taxi squad.
The team has been without forward Zemgus Girgensons as well. He needed surgery on an injured hamstring during the preseason, and is expected to miss the entire regular season.

Last night's recap

Let's take a quick look back on Monday's contest. (You can read more here in our Postgame Report.)

The Sabres took an early lead with a tip-in goal by Curtis Lazar, but the Islanders came back to take a 2-1 lead before Sam Reinhart scored perhaps Buffalo's goal of the year to tie things up early in the third period.
"There's no excuses here," Lazar said. "We understand the importance of this stretch to get back in this race. Every game's against your division. There's ground to be made up and there's ground to be lost. We decide what we do with it."
Reinhart's power-play goal was pretty, but the end result was not.

While on a power play of their own, Jean-Gabriel Pageau knocked in a rebound with 4:52 remaining to lift the Isles to victory.
Linus Ullmark made 20 saves in net.
"This is probably the most painful loss of the season for the way we were able to neutralize them, create opportunity but come out on the short end of the stick again," Krueger said. "We have to be responsible for that."

The Sabres coach felt his team had enough chances to string together a high-scoring game against the defensively stingy Islanders. They finished the night with a 36-23 edge in shots on goal.
Taylor Hall was held without a goal despite tallying six shots, not including one that deflected wide off the post. Jack Eichel hit a post during a power play in the second period.
"It was not enough offense," Krueger said. "I think when you look at that game, even if they score three, we could have had five or more."
Read the full recap here.

Tonight's game

The Devils have lost their last two games, and that includes Saturday's game against Buffalo, which the Sabres won 3-2 at Prudential Center. Buffalo is 2-1-0 against New Jersey so far this season, including a shootout victory.
The clubs will play tonight and then meet again in Buffalo on Thursday.
Here are some Game Notes from @SabresPR:
Stay tuned to Sabres.com, the team's social media outlets and the new Sabres app for news throughout the day as we get set for puck drop tonight.