Sharpen Up: March 15, 2017

Warm up some hot chocolate and pull up a chair. It's time for Sharpen Up.

Here's what you need to know.

The Sabres fell to the Sharks last night in San Jose as they kicked off a three-game road trip through California. Jack Eichel opened the scoring with his 20 h goal of the season and Robin Lehner was especially excellent in the first two periods, but the Sharks prevailed. They scored four unanswered, including a pair from Joe Pavelski.

From the game recap:

The Sharks took the lead on an own goal by Buffalo's leading scorer, after all, and got another off an odd tip over Sabres goalie Robin Lehner.

But the story of the game wasn't as much the manner with which the goals were scored as much as it was the way the Sharks outplayed the Sabres, thus creating more opportunities to earn those breaks. San Jose took 41 shots, including 36 in the first two periods, as opposed to Buffalo's 23.
"You get what you deserve in this League," Sabres goalie Robin Lehner said. "We didn't deserve to win that game and be in that game. You create your own bounces by how you play. That's why they won."

"The score is indicative of the game," coach Dan Bylsma added.
The Sharks got the go-ahead goal with 49.4 seconds remaining in the second period when Cody Franson attempted a short breakout pass to Eichel down low. Michael Haley challenged the pass for San Jose, and the puck deflected off of Eichel's stick and between Lehner's pads.

"It's just a real tough bounce," Eichel said. "Franny's making a good play to me in front of the net, we're trying to break the puck out. I end up hitting it on my back skate and it goes through Lenny's legs. That one hurts a lot."

Eichel's 20th goal at age 20 puts him in elite company in franchise history:

On tap today

It's a busy one here at Sabres.com.
Be on the lookout for a Behind the Numbers piece with Lauren Hall, where she'll show you what it takes to air one of our broadcasts on MSG. Spoiler alert: It involves A TON of cable.
Michelle Girardi Zumwalt will also be sending over a Way Beyond Blue and Gold blog, which goes inside the production of our latest episode. We'll also premiere a bonus scene looking at Patrick Kaleta's first NHL game and an early look at Rob Ray's broadcast career.
Dan Dunleavy will also file a blog today, where he'll give his thoughts on the team and whatever else may be on his mind.
And we'll have some hockey coverage for you as well. The Sabres are set to take the ice in Los Angeles at 2 p.m. PT. Jourdon LaBarber and Brian Duff are on the scene and will get you ready for tomorrow night's action.