Sharpen Up: April 28, 2022 | Tonight is Buffalo's final road game

The Buffalo Sabres will play their final road game of the season tonight in Boston.
Faceoff is at 7 p.m. on MSG and WGR 550. Pregame coverage on MSG starts at 6:30. Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray have the call.
And tomorrow night, the season wraps up with a home game against the Chicago Blackhawks. Tickets are on sale now. It'll be Fan Appreciation Night in addition to RJ's Last Call presented by Wegmans as play-by-play announcer Rick Jeanneret is set to broadcast his final game.
Here's what you need to know.

Yesterday's practice

From the Practice Report:
Kyle Okposo is not ready for the season to end, even with two games remaining.
Okposo did not practice with the Sabres on Wednesday but will travel with the team for their game in Boston on Thursday night. The Sabres conclude the season the following night at home against Chicago.
Okposo sustained an injury during practice on Monday.
"I haven't ruled anything out," he said. "So, I'm just going to kind of see how it is when I wake up tomorrow and go from there."
Craig Anderson participated in practice for the first time since leaving the team's session due to an injury last Friday. He did not dress for the Sabres' win over the New York Islanders on Saturday.
Sabres coach Don Granato said he expects Anderson to play in the season finale against the Blackhawks - hopefully with Okposo in the lineup as well.
"We want them to play and they're right on that cusp," Granato said.

The Sabres treated their final practice of the season as any other, trickling onto the ice some 25 minutes before the scheduled 11 a.m. start time.
"That's not normal for this time of year but it's the norm around here," Okposo said. "And that's all that matters, is what we do as a group and how we act. I think that the other guys would definitely like this to extend another month or two, but it wasn't meant to be. So, we're going to enjoy the last few days."
Read more here.

Tonight's matchup

From the Game Notes:
• The team's performance this season has guaranteed an improvement in points percentage of at least .115, regardless of the outcome of the two remaining games.
• It marks the eighth time in franchise history and first time since 2015-16 (.165) that the team has improved its year-over-year points percentage by at least .10.
• If the Sabres were to win their last two games, they would finish with the fifth-best year-over-year points percentage improvement in franchise history.
• Buffalo has scored 226 goals this season, marking its highest output since the team scored 240 goals during the 2010-11 campaign.
• Buffalo enters tonight's game with four consecutive wins in the same season for the first time since the team won 10 games in a row from Nov. 8 to 27, 2018.
• The Sabres are 15-8-3 since March 2 and rank 11th in the NHL with a .635 points percentage during that span.
• Rasmus Asplund has an assist in four of his last five games against the Bruins. Asplund's four career points (all assists) against Boston tie for his highest point total against any NHL opponent.
• Regardless of his output in the next two games, Alex Tuch will have a new career high in points per game this season.
• Tage Thompson has 25 points (14+11) in his last 21 contests, recording eight multi-point performances during that span. Thompson enters tonight's contest on a career-high six-game point streak (5+4) and
has recorded at least a point in 11 of his last 12 games.
• Victor Olofsson has 21 points (9+12) in his last 18 games and has tallied multi-point games in seven of those 18 contests, including each of his last three contests.
• Jeff Skinner has 21 points (10+11) in his last 18 games and has tallied at least a point in 15 of those 18 contests. Skinner enters tonight's contest on a four-game point streak, tallying seven points (2+5)
during that span.
• Since March 27, the Sabres' power play ranks first in the NHL at 36.6 percent (15-for-41).

Fan Appreciation at Home details

Fans are also encouraged to tune in to MSG on tonight Bruins for Fan Appreciation at Home festivities, beginning with the pregame show at 6:30 p.m.
Throughout Thursday's broadcast, fans can win prizes, and winners will be announced live on the air.
Prizes include a team-signed jersey, a Heritage Classic jersey with a $250 gift card to the Sabres Store, and four club tickets to a Sabres game in 2022-23.

More on tomorrow night

During Friday's regular-season finale at KeyBank Center, the team will host Fan Appreciation Night presented by Wegmans. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. Doors open at 5:30.
The career of Rick Jeanneret will also be celebrated as he takes part in his Last Call. He will retire at the end of the season after 51 years as the team's play-by-play announcer.

The first 10,000 fans in attendance will receive a commemorative "RJ's Last Call" T-shirt. Fans will be able to send RJ off with various concourse activations including photos in front of both a "Thank You, RJ" banner and alpha lit letters.
Fans can also fill out a placard upon arrival to share a special message with RJ.
After the game, fans are encouraged to stay in their seats to honor Jeanneret.

Using the Mixhalo app, fans can bring their headphones and listen to RJ's final broadcast live without delay in the arena bowl on their smartphone.

Also, in the concourse, fans can meet alumni, have their faces painted, get balloon animals made, sit down for a caricature, and have their hair done by Braid Babes.
Downbeat Percussion will perform as fans enter the arena and DJ Milk will be pumping out tunes in the concourse.
The Buffalo Sabres Foundation 50/50 raffle will offer a guaranteed pot of $25,000.

The 2021-22 Fan of the Year will be recognized during a pregame ceremony on the ice that will also announce the winner of this year's Rick Martin Memorial Award winner presented by the team's Gold Ring partners (KeyBank, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and LECOM).
Kyle Okposo, Jeff Skinner and Alex Tuch are this year's Rico Award finalists. The award, as voted on by the fans, honors the player who best demonstrates on-ice excellence, resiliency, and a dedication to the community.
Fans at the game can also enjoy 30 percent off the Sabres Store, $2 concession prices on popcorn, hot dogs, nachos and bottled non-alcoholic beverages. Lucky rows will receive giveaways and other prizes.
Select season-ticket members will also have the opportunity to join the team on the ice for the return of Jersey Off Our Backs, where they'll receive a player's game-worn jersey after the final horn.

The team will be wearing their white jerseys for the season's final White Hot Friday presented by New Amsterdam. A pregame happy hour with $5 domestic drafts will take place in the Blue Zone and Pink Whitney drink specials will be available in the New Amsterdam Bar until puck drop.

Tickets for the game are on sale now. Stay tuned to the team's official social channels all week long for additional giveaways and sweepstakes.