Sharpen Up: November 8, 2016

Taking penalties put the Sabres in a hole in Boston on Monday night, and taking more penalties kept them from ever climbing out of it.
The Sabres gave the Bruins eight power-play opportunities on Monday, including two double-minors in the second period, and the Bruins answered with three power-play goals. Boston only had three power-play goals in 11 games prior. Chris Ryndak was at TD Garden and you can read his full written recap here.

Boston's first goal came off the stick of Brad Marchand 5:44 into the second period, when Ryan O'Reilly was in the box serving his second penalty of the game. It was only the fourth time in 510 NHL games that O'Reilly had been assessed two penalties.
"Looking at my two penalties and looking at where they were in the game and where they were on the ice, it's pointless," O'Reilly said. "I have to be more aware of my stick. Staying out of the box is huge. You can't do it - if you give their best players more time with the puck, as you can see, they put it in."

Later in the period, Zemgus Girgensons was assessed a double-minor for high-sticking. With 2:34 still remaining in that penalty, Jake McCabe was called for tripping and assessed an additional two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct when he slammed his stick against the boards as he entered the box. David Krejci scored for the Bruins on the ensuing 5-on-3 advantage.
"I didn't think I deserved one, but my reaction - getting an extra two hurt my team," McCabe said. "I've got something to learn from. It won't happen again."

Dan Bylsma warned before the game that despite Boston's ranking near the bottom of the League, their power play was a dangerous one just waiting to be awakened. He echoed those thoughts in his postgame comments, which you can watch below.

Sabres Style is tomorrow

Imagine having Craig Rivet, Andrew Peters and Matt Ellis at your dinner party. There's still time to mingle with them and fellow fans at tomorrow's first "Sabres Style Girls Night Out" event of the season. The event begins with a pregame party at 6 p.m. and continues with Buffalo's home game against the Ottawa Senators.
During the first or second intermission, attendees will be invited down to watch the Sabres take the ice and enjoy the Gold Carpet Experience.
Tickets for the event are $70 and include food and drink at the pregame party, a 300-level ticket to the game and admission to the Gold Carpet Experience. If you're a season ticket holder or already have tickets for the game, tickets for just the pregame party and Gold Carpet Experience are available for $30.

On Tap

The Sabres have the day off, but we'll have our weekly Amerks Update for you this afternoon. Buffalo is back at it on Wednesday with a home game against the Senators at 7:30 p.m.