Sharpen Up: December 30, 2021 | Sabres face Islanders on the road tonight

The Buffalo Sabres returned to action last night for the first time since December 17 and they have another game tonight.
They'll face the New York Islanders at UBS Arena, their brand-new rink at 7:30 p.m. on MSG and WGR 550. Pregame coverage begins at 7 on MSG.
Last night, Buffalo fell to the Devils 4-3 with six players and head coach Don Granato in COVID-19 protocol. Tage Thompson scored twice and defenseman Ethan Prow, up from Rochester due to injuries and COVID cases on the blue line, scored in his NHL debut.
Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs dressed for the Sabres for the first time. Tuch recorded an assist for his first point of the season. JJ Peterka also played in his first NHL game.
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Last night's recap

From the Postgame Report:
Ethan Prow and JJ Peterka stepped onto the KeyBank Center ice for their rookie hot laps, the culmination of two very different journeys to their NHL debuts.
Prow is 29, Peterka 19. Peterka is in his first North American pro season; Prow has played 283 professional games spanning seven seasons and three leagues. They did share one bit of ironic serendipity: The two were teammates last season in Germany, albeit for different reasons.
Peterka was born in Germany. He spent last season in Munich eagerly awaiting the chance to begin his career in the United States. Prow, a Minnesota native, had gone overseas after bouncing around the minors without ever getting the call to the NHL.
Still, the dream persisted.

"That's why I came back, I guess," Prow said. "There's always that thing in the back of your mind that wants to play in the NHL. Today, it came true."
The call finally came Wednesday for Prow, who joined the organization on a one-year deal during the offseason and has spent the past three months as an alternate captain in Rochester. He was initially added to Buffalo's taxi squad in the morning, then found out he would be in the lineup after defenseman Jacob Bryson was placed into COVID-19 protocol.
By the end of the night, he had added an NHL goal to his resume. Prow drifted low into the offensive zone and buried a rebound late in the third period, briefly igniting a comeback that ultimately fell short in a 4-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils.

Prow described the day as a whirlwind.
"Obviously, it was great to get a callup and be able to be in the lineup," he said. "You never expect to get your first one and first goal as well. So that's just the cherry on top, I think."
Read the full recap here.
The Amerks, meanwhile, defeated Providence 5-3 thanks to a four-point night (2+2) from captain Michael Mersch.

Tonight's matchup

From @SabresPR's Game Notes:
• This is the first of three meetings between the Sabres and Islanders this season.
• Last meeting: Buffalo defeated New York 4-3 (SO) in Buffalo on May 4, 2021.
• Next scheduled meeting: Saturday, April 23 in Buffalo.
• The Sabres are 2-7-1 in their last 10 games against the Islanders; 1-7-2 on the road.
• This is the 182nd game all-time between Buffalo and New York; Buffalo has a 84-72-25 series record.
• The Sabres are 36-41-13 on the road against the Islanders all-time.
• Tonight's game wraps Buffalo's seventh of 16 sets of back-to-back games this season, which began last
night with a 4-3 loss vs. New Jersey.
• The Sabres are 3-3-0 in the first game of back-to-back sets and 0-2-4 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 (2), two points (1), one point (2) and zero points (1).
• Peyton Krebs and Alex Tuch made their Sabres debuts last night and JJ Peterka and Ethan Prow made their NHL debuts.
• Krebs and Tuch were acquired with a top-10 protected 2022 first-round pick and a 2023 second-round pick from Vegas in exchange for Jack Eichel and a 2023 third-round pick on Nov. 4.
• Tuch recorded his first point (assist) as a member of the Sabres.
• He has three points (1+2) in three career road games against the Islanders.
• In 16 games for Rochester this season, Krebs has recorded 14 points (4+10).
• Peterka was ranked third among AHL rookies with 16 assists and his 20 points tied him for fifth in AHL rookie scoring at the time of his recall.
• Prow scored his first career NHL goal. He was tied for the Amerks' team lead in scoring by defensemen with 14 points (3+11) in 23 games at the time of his recall.
• Anders Bjork has four points (3+1) and a plus-3 rating in his last three games against the Islanders.
• At the conclusion of Wednesday's game, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen ranked sixth among qualified NHL goaltenders in save percentage (.932) and 15th in goals-against average (2.30) this season. He also ranked second in save percentage and fourth in goals-against average among rookie netminders.
• Luukkonen has held opponents to two goals in five of his six games and posted a .905 save percentage or better in all six of his appearances this season.

World Juniors canceled

The remainder of the 2022 World Junior Championship has been cancelled due to COVID-19, the IIHF announced Wednesday.
The Sabres had four prospects participating in the tournament: forwards Isak Rosen (Sweden) and Jakub Konecny (Czechia) and defensemen Owen Power (Canada) and Nikita Novikov (Russia).
Power became the first Canadian defenseman in tournament history to record a hat trick in Canada's opener against Czechia, a 6-3 win. He added two assists in an 11-2 victory over Austria on Tuesday.
Check out the full article here.

Road Crew returns

The Buffalo Sabres announced yesterday that the team's Road Crew will make a Tour Stop in Las Vegas on Monday, January 31, prior to the team's game against the Vegas Golden Knights on February 1.
This tour stop will take place at Hofbräuhaus (4510 Paradise Road, Las Vegas, NV 89169) from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $15 each, with all proceeds benefiting the Buffalo Sabres Foundation.
Fans can purchase tickets online at Sabres.com/RoadCrew.
Fans attending the event will get the opportunity to meet Sabres alumni Danny Gare, Brad May, J-P Dumont and Martin Biron, as well as broadcaster Brian Duff.
Click here for more details.