Sharpen Up: February 13, 2018

The Tampa Bay Lightning are here to take on the Sabres tonight. We'll see you at KeyBank Center for the 7 p.m. faceoff. But if you can't make it, check out the GMC Game Night pregame show at 6:30 on MSG. Dan and Rayzor have the call just after 7.
Here's what you need to know.

Stay tuned for lineup news and notes from the morning skate. We'll have updates for you here on Sabres.com and on our social media accounts.

Special teams are rolling

From the Game Notes…
On the power play:
While shorthanded:
- Entering play Monday, the Sabres were the only team with three players who have scored at least two shorthanded goals this season (Kane - 3, Girgensons - 2, Pouliot - 2). - Ryan O'Reilly's four shorthanded assists led the league before Monday's games, and his four shorthanded points tied for second.

Facing off

More from

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Since the NHL began keeping faceoff stats in 1997-98, only five players have won more than 29 faceoffs in a regular-season game:
O'Reilly, who leads the NHL in faceoffs won (831) and faceoff percentage (61.3%) this season, is climbing the single-season record books as well.
His 831 wins already rank as the sixth-most wins by a Sabre in a season and are on pace to become the third-most by any NHL player in a season:
At his current pace, O'Reilly would become just the third player ever to win at least 1,000 faceoffs in a season while maintaining a faceoff percentage of at least 59 percent, joining Rod Brind-Amour (five times) and Patrice Bergeron (two times).

Tonight's matchup

Thanks to our PR Department for really carrying the load today with all of these stats....
- Sam Reinhart has totaled 14 points (4+10) in his last 12 games. - Rasmus Ristolainen, who enters tonight on a three-game point streak, has 16 points (4+12) in his last 19 games, dating back to Dec. 29. Ristolainen's 16 points during that span tied for fourth among NHL defensemen entering play Monday. - Kyle Okposo has recorded 14 points (3+11) in his last 14 games, including four multi-point games. - Casey Nelson, who scored his first NHL goal on Sunday vs. Colorado, has points in three of his last four games. - Evander Kane and Benoit Pouliot each have goals in the Sabres' last two games.