Sharpen Up: January 29, 2022 | Sabres begin 3-game road trip tonight

For Buffalo Sabres fans on the East Coast, it'll be a late one tonight. Buffalo takes on the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena at 9 p.m. MSG and WGR 550 are the places to catch the action. Pregame coverage on MSG starts at 8:30.
There are some questions about who will start in goal tonight. Michael Houser entered the NHL's COVID-19 protocol before the team flew out west, leaving Craig Anderson and Dustin Tokarski as the only options right now. They've both missed significant amounts of time. Keep scrolling for more.
And stay tuned for Don Granato's pregame media availability, where we may receive some more clarity on the lineup.
For now…
Here's what you need to know.

Yesterday's practice

We have more on the goaltending situation in the Practice Report:
Michael Houser entered COVID-19 protocol on Friday, creating yet another absence in goal for the Buffalo Sabres as Craig Anderson and Dustin Tokarski near potential returns.
Houser will become the sixth Buffalo goaltender to miss time this season. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (lower body) and Malcolm Subban (upper body) are currently out with injuries. Aaron Dell is suspended three games for interference against Ottawa Senators forward Drake Batherson on Tuesday.

Anderson and Tokarski were the lone goaltenders practicing on Friday before the Sabres departed for a three-game road trip that opens Saturday in Arizona. General manager Kevyn Adams told reporters that both were expected to travel with the team.
Anderson, who was Buffalo's starter on opening night, has been out since sustaining an upper-body injury in San Jose on Nov. 2. Tokarski entered COVID protocol on Dec. 2 and has not returned to games due to lingering symptoms.
Granato said prior to receiving news on Houser that the team hoped for Anderson to start one of the Sabres' back-to-back games in Arizona on Saturday or in Colorado on Sunday.

Tokarski initially began practicing with the Sabres on Dec. 27 and continued to skate with the team until Jan. 16. He returned to practice again on Thursday.
"There's been some times where I'd think I was close and then there's some setbacks, and then you try something new and something else occurs or pops up," he said. "So, there's been a lot of question marks in the last … seven, eight weeks now but we're doing our best to answer them.
"Trainers have been good in helping me and supporting this unfortunate little journey here. I've enjoyed Buffalo a ton throughout the whole year, everyone's been helpful. I'm looking forward to hopefully helping this team soon."
Meanwhile, Zemgus Girgensons did not practice Friday and will be out through the All-Star break, Granato said. Girgensons had missed five games with a lower-body injury prior to playing Tuesday in Ottawa.
Read more here.

Tonight's Matchup

From the Game Notes:
• This is the second and final meeting between the Sabres and Coyotes this season.
• Last meeting: Buffalo defeated Arizona 2-1 (SO) in Buffalo on Oct. 16.
• The Sabres are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games against the Coyotes; 8-2-0 on the road.
• This is the 84th game all-time between Buffalo and Arizona; Buffalo has a 49-24-10 series record.
• The Sabres are 22-16-2 on the road against the Coyotes all-time.
• If he dresses, tonight will be Rasmus Asplund's 100th career NHL game.
• Since making his Sabres debut on Dec. 29, Sabres forward Alex Tuch has recorded 10 points (3+7) in 10 games, including six points in his last five contests (2+4).

• Tage Thompson has 12 points (4+8) in his last 12 games played, including five points (2+3) in his last four contests.
• Rasmus Dahlin has five points (1+4) in his last three games.

• In his last 10 games, Jeff Skinner has recorded 10 points (7+3).
• Skinner has recorded 11 points (6+5) in his last 10 games against the Coyotes, including six points (4+2) in five games against Arizona since joining the Sabres.
• Dylan Cozens enters tonight's game with four points (2+2) in his last four games.
• Cody Eakin has recorded six points (3+3) in his last seven games against the Coyotes, including a point (1+1) in each of his last two visits to Arizona.
• Tonight's game opens up Buffalo's ninth of 16 sets of back-to-back games this season, which will wrap up tomorrow night in Colorado.
• The Sabres are 3-4-1 in the first game of back-to-back sets and 1-3-4 in the second game so far this season. Buffalo's point breakdown in back-to-back sets this season is: four points (0), three points (3), two points (1), one point (2) and zero points (2).

Pysyk's mic'd up

He chose not to say much, but here's a taste of a recent practice through the eyes of Mark Pysyk:

Sabres, Bills announce Better Together fundraising initiative

As Black History Month begins, the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres announce Better Together, a One Buffalo fundraising initiative to benefit organizations that are fighting food insecurity in Black and African American communities.
Through Better Together, the Buffalo Bills Foundation and Buffalo Sabres Foundation have partnered to raise funds for five local organizations that are working to ensure families have access to healthy, nutritious food in Black and African American communities:
• African Heritage Food Co-op
• Buffalo Center for Health Equity
• Buffalo Freedom Gardens
• Buffalo Go Green
• Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH)
The Bills and Sabres foundations will be making donations totaling $120,000 to these organizations throughout the first week of February and are asking the community to participate.
Fans are invited to donate at bettertogetherbuffalo.org from Jan. 31 to Feb. 4.
Click here for more info.

And stay tuned for more details next week.

Amerks beat Syracuse

Watch: Youtube Video
From the Amerks.com recap:
Forward Ryan MacInnis single-handedly outscored the Syracuse Crunch (15-14-3-1) as he delivered both goal, including the game-winning tally with 6.4 seconds left in regulation, to lift the Rochester Americans (21-12-2-1) to a win 2-1 Friday night at Blue Cross Arena.
By scoring two goals, MacInnis surpassed the 10-goal mark for the first time in his six AHL seasons and became just the third Amerk to complete the feat this season, joining Jack Quinn and Michael Mersch. The veteran forward also eclipsed the 20-point mark for the third consecutive campaign. He also has six goals in six games during the month of January.
Mersch also extended his current point streak to seven straight games with the primary assist on the game-winning goal, matching his career-long he set in 2015. The Amerks captain is now two points away from reaching the 40-point mark for the fifth time in eight years.
Brandon Biro pushed his point streak to three games with an assist on MacInnis' second-period goal. Biro has 19 points (5+14) over his last 18 games to move into 10th in scoring among all AHL rookies.
Goaltender Mat Robson made 25 saves to pick up his second straight win and improve to 5-2-1 win on the season. He's allowed two goals-against over his last two starts combined and hasn't lost in regulation through five starts in January.
With the win, Rochester, which opened its second four-game homestand of the month, improves to 3-0-2-1 in its last six home games while also earning points in 16 of its last 23 games overall dating back to Nov. 19.
The Amerks close out the month of January as they welcome back the league-leading Utica Comets tonight for a 6:05 p.m. showdown at The Blue Cross Arena. All the action will be carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.
Click here for the full recap.
And for more about JJ Peterka's rookie season, read our feature story on him here.