Sharpen Up: October 8, 2018

The Sabres defeated the Rangers on Saturday and returned to the ice for practice yesterday. Today, they face a tough matchup as the Vegas Golden Knights are here for a 3 p.m. faceoff at KeyBank Center.
Tickets are still available so come on down and catch the action.
RJ and Rayzor will have the call on MSG and WGR 550. The whole crew will be on hand for the GMC Game Night pregame show starting at 2:30 p.m. on MSG.
Here's what you need to know.

Sunday's practice

Is Johan Larsson ready to return to the lineup? He was back at practice yesterday:

Larsson was injured blocking a shot during the team's preseason game in Pittsburgh on Sept. 26. While the competition continued around him, Larsson began the regular season on injured reserve.
"It's always tough," Larsson said. "It hit me in the worst sport, I wasn't really comfortable at all. But I feel good now. It's good to be back."
Larsson was back on the ice for practice on Sunday, a low-volume session that lasted just over a half hour. He rotated on a line with Jeff Skinner, Patrik Berglund and Kyle Okposo. Housley said the forward's game status has yet to be determined.
When Larsson does return, he'll join an environment that remains competitive. The Sabres had 13 forwards at practice, with Vladimir Sobotka remaining absent due to an upper-body injury. Remi Elie was a sparkplug in his debut on Thursday, while Zemgus Girgensons and Evan Rodrigues have had strong starts to their season.

"I mean, you look at the players that are out, certainly there are going to be some decisions to be made," Housley said. "That always pushes players' games to a higher level. It's a good situation to be in. It's unfortunate that our guys are banged up a little bit but it's good to have depth."
We have more, including a deeper look at Saturday's big third-period penalty kill in the Ice Level Practice Report.

Today's matchup

From the Game Notes...
- This is the first of two meetings between the Sabres and Golden Knights this season. - Next meeting: Tuesday, Oct. 16 in Vegas - Last meeting: Vegas defeated Buffalo 2-1 (OT) in Buffalo on March 10

Party in Alumni Plaza with us

Opening Weekend will conclude with a party to celebrate One Buffalo Day in the Alumni Plaza today, prior to the Sabres' 3 p.m. Kids Day game against the Golden Knights presented by Perry's Ice Cream.
The party, which will begin at 1 p.m., will feature a GIF station, where fans will have the opportunity to create their own One Buffalo Day-themed GIF, in addition to live music from The Strictly Hip.
Local Buffalo mascots will be in attendance for the Sabres' afternoon tilt against the Golden Knights. There will also be a special One Buffalo car magnet giveaway for 10,000 lucky fans.

Looking back at Saturday's win

That was fun. From the Game Recap:
With 1.8 seconds left on the clock, Jack Eichel was finally able to exhale.
The Buffalo Sabres captain had already broken his career-high in ice time when he stepped in front of New York Rangers defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk to block a shot from point-blank range in the game's final minute on Saturday, temporarily protecting his team's one-goal lead.

When the puck was iced to set up another defensive-zone draw, Eichel did it again. This time when he blocked the shot, he sped past Shattenkirk and buried the puck into an empty-net to put the finishing touches on a 3-1 win.

Watching Eichel smile at his stall afterward, the team's opening-night loss to Boston on Thursday felt like a distant memory.
"It's awesome," Eichel said, unaware that his 25:45 of ice time was the highest of his career. "It's great to get a win on home ice. There's a lot of stuff we want to get better and clean up. They played well, give them credit.
"I thought they came at us fast, they transitioned the puck well and our goalie our best player tonight."

Read more here.

Also, Hutton was rocking a Beauts cap in his postgame interviews. They won their season opener on Sunday and the home opener is set for Saturday at Harborcenter.

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Today in Sabres history

1992: Dominik Hasek makes his first Sabres appearance, starting in the team's season-opener at home, a 5-4 loss to the Quebec Nordiques.