Sharpen Up: October 10, 2016

Congratulations on discovering Sharpen Up, your one-stop shop for Sabres news to start your day. The preseason schedule came to an end over the weekend and Buffalo is now preparing for the season opener on Thursday against Montreal.
Here's what you need to know.

Opening night rosters are due tomorrow afternoon. A few roster spots are still up for grabs, most notably the 13th forward and seventh defensemen spots.
Derek Grant has lit up the score sheet (3+3 in six of seven preseason games) and he's impressed his teammates. On Sunday, when Brian Duff asked some of the players who has been the preseason's most valuable player, "Granter" was the nickname on the tip of everyone's tongue.

The injury situation the team faces also adds an interesting wrinkle to the roster situation. We'll have a better idea of where the team stands when they return to the ice on Tuesday. But on Sunday, coach Dan Bylsma seemed hopeful about the prognosis of several key players including Ryan O'Reilly (muscle spasms), Zach Bogosian (groin strain) and Dmitry Kulikov (lower-body bruise). Kyle Okposo's bruised knee could keep him out of Thursday's game, but we'll have to wait and see.
For all the updates, check out yesterday's Ice Level Practice Report.
Check out what Bylsma had to say on Sunday.

Friday Recap

Buffalo closed out their preseason slate with a 4-2 win in Ottawa on Friday and in that victory, we got a look at a line combination that could start the season together. Jack Eichel was between Evander Kane and Sam Reinhart, and the results were fruitful. Kane and Reinhart each picked up and goal and an assist, and Eichel added an assist as well.
They spent some time together last year before Kane sustained an injury and they were able to rekindle some of that chemistry Friday.
Eichel after the game:
"We had some success when we played the right way. We obviously had some more success tonight. I mean, backchecking, stripping pucks, that's our game. Forechecking, going to the net. We were rewarded and that's how we're going to have to play."
Robin Lehner made 30 saves and Grant potted a shorthanded goal. Here's the video recap.

On Tap Today

Sabres Prospects Report will be up and running this morning. He'll have the breakdown of how Buffalo's players in the system fared, including Connor Hurley, Cliff Pu and Austin Osmanski.
Buffalo returns to the ice tomorrow morning for practice.

and Duffer will start to set the stage for Thursday night's home opener.