Sharpen Up: January 19, 2021 | Sabres look to sweep Flyers on the road

The Buffalo Sabres picked up their first win of the season in a big way last night. They knocked off the previously unbeaten Philadelphia Flyers 6-1 at Wells Fargo Center.
The two clubs will meet again tonight as Buffalo will look to pull off the sweep while wearing their sweet new road uniforms.
We'll have lineup news and notes throughout the day here on Sabres.com and our social media channels. Pregame coverage starts at 6:30 p.m. That'll lead into the 7 p.m. faceoff on MSG and WGR 550. Dan and Rayzor will have the call.
Here's what you need to know.

Starts with a 'W'

The Sabres put in the work last night from start to finish.
Curtis Lazar and Sam Reinhart potted a pair of goals each. Henri Jokiharju and Victor Olofsson really iced the game when they both scored late in the third period.
Jack Eichel and Taylor Hall have points in all three games this season and they're tied for the team lead with six points apiece. They each recorded three assists last night. The beginning of Hall's tenure is among the best in franchise history. We'll have more on that later on in Sharpen Up.

The Sabres were very pleased not only with the way they were able to roll four lines consistently last night, but also with the way they maintained their aggressiveness and kept their feet moving without the puck.
"We're just really pleased to get a confirmation of the process like this here today in Philadelphia," Sabres coach Ralph Krueger said.
What were Duffer and Marty pleased with? Since the game was on NBCSN, we had them record a quick postgame show of their own:

Also of note, Carter Hutton started the game for Buffalo and made 21 saves to earn his first victory of the season. A few hours before the game, the Sabres announced that Linus Ullmark would miss the contest for personal reasons and that they'd called up Jonas Johansson from the taxi squad to serve as Hutton's backup.
Hutton had a clean sheet until Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored with 2:05 remaining.

And speaking of Aube-Kubel, he had an eventful final few minutes. From the Postgame Report (which you can read in full here)…
On the ensuing shift after scoring Philadelphia's lone goal, Aube-Kubel delivered what amounted to a punch to the face of Rasmus Dahlin as he sought to chase a puck into the Buffalo zone. Aube-Kubel was assessed a double-minor for high-sticking, prompting Olofsson's power-play goal.
With the teams set to conclude their two-game set Tuesday night, Krueger suggested the Department of Player Safety should examine the hit.

"The hit on Dahlin, a forearm to the head that I'm sure the league is taking a deep look at right now," he said. "That's not the kind of physicality we need to see, especially with the score at that point in the game."

Tonight's matchup

Last night's victory tied Buffalo's greatest margin of victory in a regular-season road game against the Flyers in franchise history. They also won by five goals on November 13, 1993.
And as we noted in last night's At The Final Horn Recap, the victory also marked Buffalo's first win in Philadelphia since October 27, 2015.
You'll also have to go back to October 27, 2015 to find the last time Buffalo won consecutive games in the City of Brotherly Love. That win capped off consecutive road wins for Buffalo (the first coming on February 19, 2015), and was also part of a three-game win streak against the Flyers (which ended on October 30, 2015).
How do we know this stuff? It's all in the Game Notes, courtesy of @SabresPR.
We promised you some notes on Hall's start. Here they are:
What about Eichel?

'The Instigators' are back on MSG

Andrew Peters and Craig Rivet have been going strong on the radio waves, but today, "The Instigators" presented by Seneca Resorts and Casinos will be simulcast on MSG and WGR 550.
They're on from 10 a.m. until noon, and if you miss an episode you can catch up by checking out the show archive here on Sabres.com.

Today in Sabres history

2001: Dominik Hasek records his 50th shutout as a member of the Sabres, blanking the Florida Panthers 1-0.