Sharpen Up: November 15, 2018

The Sabres hit the road after practice today. They have a game in Winnipeg tomorrow night against the Jets, who are currently in third place in the Central Division with 23 points.
But first, we'll have coverage of today's skate.
Here's what you need to know.

Wednesday's practice

Nathan Beaulieu has been steady on the blue line and he's found some chemistry with his new partner, Rasmus Dahlin. He was the focus of yesterday's Ice Level Practice Report…
Nathan Beaulieu drifted toward the slot and caught a pass from his defense partner, setting off the sequence of events that led to Jeff Skinner's first-period goal against Tampa Bay on Tuesday night.
It wasn't an ordinary D-to-D pass, but it's the type one needs to be ready for when playing alongside Rasmus Dahlin.
"I think me and him really think the game the same way," Beaulieu said following a team meeting at KeyBank Center on Tuesday. "On the first goal, you notice that. You don't really see plays happening like that too much, a D hitting another D in the slot.
"I just think that we think the game really well, the same way, so I think that makes things a lot easier to read in the offensive zone for both of us."

The assist on Skinner's goal was the first of two Beaulieu would record against the Lightning, marking his first multi-point game as a Sabre (and sixth of his career). He scored a goal in the game prior, against Vancouver on Saturday, when he cut to the net and tapped in a back-door pass from Kyle Okposo.

Both of those performances were building blocks, he said, coming off a stretch in which he sat for seven of eight games after sustaining an upper-body injury in San Jose on Oct. 18. He returned to the lineup in Buffalo's overtime win in Montreal last Thursday.
"Montreal was a tough one, I didn't really feel that good," he said. "But the last couple games I've felt better. Obviously when the team's winning it's a lot easier. But now trying to get back in the swing of things, I think our last few games have been a lot better and kind of my identity."
You can read more here.

Thanks for donating turkeys!

The Sabres partnered with Wegmans and Entercom Buffalo for our annual Thanksgiving "Turkeys For Tickets Drive" this morning to benefit local food pantries.

Scouting report

Last night, the Jets beat Washington 3-1 at home. From the NHL.com recap…
Ben Chiarot broke a tie in the third period to help the Winnipeg Jets to a 3-1 win against the Washington Capitals at Bell MTS Place on Wednesday.
Chiarot's wrist shot from the top of the left circle deflected off the stick of Capitals defenseman John Carlson to make it 2-1 at 12:51.
"It's nice," Chiarot said. "We've been talking about getting on a bit of a roll here. We're excited, the Stanley Cup champs coming to town you want to bring your best effort. And [Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck] did a good job of keeping us in it at the beginning, and I thought once we got going, got skating, it was a pretty tight game."
Kyle Connor scored into an empty net at 19:00 to make it 3-1.
Jets forward Blake Wheeler extended his point streak to 11 games (two goals, 18 assists). He also had an 11-game point streak from March 20-April 9, 2016. Wheeler is second in the NHL in assists with 21, one behind Mikko Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche.
Winnipeg has allowed two goals or fewer in five of its past seven games.