Sharpen Up: February 18, 2019

The Sabres began their three-game road trip on a disappointing note. The New Jersey Devils scored two goals in the third period to pull away with a 4-1 win at Prudential Center.
Sam Reinhart netted Buffalo's only goal, which put Buffalo within one in the final minute of the second period. He's now set a career high with 51 points in just his 58th game played.
The Sabres are set to play the Florida Panthers tomorrow night at BB&T Center. Faceoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Florida beat the Canadiens 6-3 last night, backed by Aleksander Barkov's second career hat trick.
Here's what you need to know.

About last night

From the Lexus Postgame Report…
Sam Reinhart scored to set a new career-high in points and the Buffalo Sabres played to a 35-24 shot advantage, but another comeback effort came up short in what ended as a 4-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Sunday.
The Sabres trailed 2-1 after Reinhart scored with 55.2 seconds remaining in the second period, then outshot the Devils 11-6 in the third. Their comeback push ended when Devils forward Kyle Palmieri picked the near-side corner with a backhand shot from in-tight to cap a three-point outing (1+2) with 5:51 remaining.
"I felt that we did a lot of good things with the puck again," Sabres coach Phil Housley said. "We didn't get the break we needed. We got tip-ins, we got rebounds, we hit a post. But we can't get away from our game. It's a one-goal game. I feel that we're right there in the third period.
"Our possession time, our zone time, we had some momentum. We had some really good shifts. We just didn't cash in, so from that point we've just got to remain and stay the course. When we have to defend, defend, and then we can come back and get a regroup or get back into their zone."
"At the end of the day, we've got to bear down and yeah, we need to start putting up more points soon," Reinhart said. "We're focused on getting back and getting ready for the Panthers because that's another chance to put up points."

Reinhart has also set career-highs in assists (36) and multi-point games (15) this season. Jack Eichel's assist was his 62nd point, two shy of his career-best mark from last season.
Looking at the playoff picture, Pittsburgh, who holds the second Wild Card spot, beat the Rangers 6-5 last night. They're now six points ahead of the Sabres with one more game played.
You can read the full recap here.

Roster move

Yesterday afternoon, defenseman Casey Nelson completed his conditioning assignment and was recalled from the Rochester Americans (AHL).
Nelson returns to the Sabres after completing a five-game stint with the Amerks, during which he recorded one assist and eight shots on goal. Before suffering an upper-body injury, Nelson registered five points (1+4) and a plus-6 rating in 22 games for Buffalo this season.
He would still need to be activated from injured reserve before he can enter a game.

Mega Raffle recap

The Buffalo Sabres Mega Raffle, held yesterday, featured prizes including Sabres autographed items, team experiences, tickets and much more. All proceeds from the event benefit the Buffalo Sabres Foundation.