Sharpen Up: February 3, 2017

Not going to lie, these are way more fun to write after a win. Buuut, in a time where every point is critical, the Sabres were able to earn one in their overtime loss last night to the York Rangers.
There were shots aplenty with a combined 134 shot attempts (69 for Buffalo, 65 for New York) registered. However, the goaltending was steady on both sides and the Rangers came away with a 2-1 victory. Robin Lehner made 42 saves in net for Buffalo.
Here's what you need to know.

Buffalo went down 1-0 late in the second period thanks to a power-play goal by Mats Zuccarello, but the Sabres stuck with it and battled back to tie it with 5:31 remaining in the third on a Cody Franson shot.
That goal allowed the Sabres to take the game to overtime where the Rangers scored shortly after a power-play opportunity. Chris Kreider scored the winner to give New York their first victory over Buffalo this season.
Buffalo had a few prime chances in the overtime period, but Henrik Lundqvist made a great stop on a Kyle Okposo one-timer and about a minute later, Evander Kane rang one off the post.
Check out Jourdon LaBarber's game recap for more.
The Kane-Zemgus Girgensons-Brian Gionta was a bright spot for Buffalo even though they did not register a point. They did generate a combined 31 shot attempts (17 on goal) and kept Buffalo aggressive in the offensive end.
"We were taking it to them pretty good," Kane said. "I think our line, we were feeling good about what we were doing … It was a tough, tough, tough loss. For some of the things we did out there to not score and give Lenny a little bit more help on the scoreboard, it was tough."
Even though they did get one point, the Sabres know that in order to make a real push back into the playoff hunt, they're going to need two points more often than not. Right now, after 50 games, they have 50 points, which puts them eight points behind Boston for the third seed in the Atlantic Division (with four games in hand) and eight points behind Philadelphia for the second Wild Card spot (with two games in hand).
"It just wasn't our night I guess," Kane said. "That's kind of what you've got to chalk it up to when it comes to the offensive part. But like I said, we can't settle for overtime losses. We've got to get Ws."

Here are all the highlights

Let's go inside the locker room for more reaction

Injury update

Zach Bogosian left for the dressing room with 4:22 remaining in the first period and did not return. It was announced that Bogosian sustained a mid-body injury.
Sabres coach Dan Bylsma did not have any further update after the game. As a result of the injury, the Sabres were forced to rotate five defensemen for the remainder of the game.
Buffalo will not practice today, so we'll have a better idea of what they plan on doing tomorrow before their home game against Ottawa. The last time a defenseman was injured, Casey Nelson received the call up from Rochester. The Amerks play tonight in Bridgeport and tomorrow in Hartford.

You Can Play Night announced for Tuesday

On Tuesday, the Sabres will host You Can Play Night during our game against San Jose. The You Can Play Project was founded to advocate for inclusion, acceptance and respect of LGBTQ athletes in sports. The event will run in conjunction with the NHL's Hockey is for Everyone™ month.
There will be many events taking place throughout the night. Gay & Lesbian Youth Services and the Pride Center of WNY will have tables set up in the 100 Level pavilion prior to the game against the San Jose Sharks.
The Buffalo Sabres Foundation will also be donating $5,000 to both the Gay & Lesbian Youth Services and the Pride Center of WNY.
Some Sabres players will be using Pride Tape on their sticks during pregame warm-ups in support of the evening. Each stick will be auctioned online at sabres.com/auctions beginning at 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 7. Proceeds from the auction, which ends on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 9 p.m., will benefit You Can Play.
Click here for more details.

Sabres Showdown returns tomorrow

Don't miss your chance to fill out your bracket to win some great prizes as you try to pick the winner of our Sabres Showdown challenge presented by ADPRO Sports. Eight of your favorite Sabres go head-to-head in a skills competition to determine the Showdown champion.
A new matchup will air in each of our next eight broadcasts on MSG. They start tomorrow night during the first intermission where we'll find out how Ryan O'Reilly fared against Marcus Foligno.
Go to Sabres.com/Showdown for a list of the first-round matchups and a link to fill out your bracket.
In the meantime, Andrew Peters and Craig Rivet put on their only "skills" competition at the Bills field house. Check it out here:

On tap today (or actually, tomorrow)

The Ottawa Senators are in town tomorrow night for a 7 p.m. faceoff at KeyBank Center. We'll have full coverage of the Morning Skate . If you can't make it to the game (individual tickets, Family Packs and a Hat Trick Pack offer are all on sale now), please join us for the TOPS Game Night pregame show on MSG.
Dan Dunleavy, Rob Ray and special guest (and Showdown's Breakaway Event goaltender) Martin Biron will have the call for you, which you can also listen to on WGR 550.