Sharpen Up: February 17, 2019

The Sabres are on the road tonight for a date with the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center. It's a 6 p.m. faceoff so join us for the GMC Game Night at 5:30 on MSG.
RJ and Rayzor will have the call on MSG and WGR 550.
For lineup news and notes, stay tuned to Sabres.com throughout the day.
Here's what you need to know.

Tonight's matchup

From the Game Notes…

Saturday's practice

From the Ice Level Practice Report…
Casey Mittelstadt was a full participant when the Buffalo Sabres returned to practice at Harborcenter on Saturday morning, signaling another step toward a return to the lineup. The rookie forward has missed the last two games with a lower-body injury.
"I felt good today," Mittelstadt said. "It's good to see yourself moving forward and taking steps. It's something to build off of, for sure. It was a very positive note."
The Sabres also had good news regarding the status of Kyle Okposo, who left their loss to the New York Rangers on Friday following a third-period fight with defenseman Tony DeAngelo. Okposo was held from practice for precautionary reasons, but coach Phil Housley said that his absence was not concussion related. He will travel with the team for its three-game road trip, which begins in New Jersey on Sunday.
Zach Bogosian and Linus Ullmark will also travel after taking maintenance days on Saturday, while Marco Scandella will remain in Buffalo to be re-evaluated for an injury.

Here's how the Sabres lined up at practice, with rotating defense pairs:
53 Jeff Skinner - 9 Jack Eichel - 29 Jason Pominville
71 Evan Rodrigues - 37 Casey Mittelstadt - 23 Sam Reinhart
43 Conor Sheary - 22 Johan Larsson - 28 Zemgus Girgensons
49 C.J. Smith - 17 Vladimir Sobotka - 72 Tage Thompson
Defense: 19 Jake McCabe, 24 Lawrence Pilut, 26 Rasmus Dahlin, 48 Matt Hunwick, 55 Rasmus Ristolainen, 82 Nathan Beaulieu
40 Carter Hutton
You can read the full report here.

Today in Sabres history

1982: Gilbert Perreault scores his 383rd career goal (a game-winner) to lift the Sabres a 3-2 victory at Chicago.
While he would go on to score 512 goals with the Sabres, Perreault only needed the first 383 to set the franchise record; Rick Martin ranks second in franchise history with 382 goals with the team.