Sharpen Up: September 17, 2018

The first preseason game is tonight. The Sabres will have their morning skate in Buffalo before flying out to Columbus this afternoon for a 7 p.m. tilt against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.
You can hear Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray's call of the action at 7 p.m. on WGR 550.
Who is playing tonight? We'll let you know with our full pre- and postgame coverage here at Sabres.com.
Here's what you need to know.

Blue Jackets' roster

Columbus has announced the 20 players slated to dress tonight against the Sabres:
Forwards: Vitaly Abramov, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Alex Broadhurst, Jonathan Davidsson, Brandon Dubinsky, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Anthony Duclair, Markus Hannikainen, Ryan MacInnis, Sonny Milano, Calvin Thurkauf, Sam Vigneault
Defensemen: Adam Clendening, Tommy Cross, Scott Harrington, Dean Kukan, Markus Nutivaara, David Savard
Goalies: Matiss Kivlenieks, Brad Thiessen

From the weekend

The Sabres took part in three practice sessions and a scrimmage this weekend.
Rasmus Dahlin scored twice in the intra-squad scrimmage and you can watch full highlights here:

Check out yesterday's practice report for more on that, Lawrence Pilut and Johan Larsson.
"I just like the competition," coach Phil Housley said. "Obviously, it's the third day of camp, it's almost like that hump day where they've had two really tough days of practice. I think you could see they're a little tired at times. But just mainly getting them into game condition.
"You can prepare yourself, but once you get into the bump and grind it's a different situation. I was really pleased with their effort."

Dahlin has been skating on a pairing with Jake McCabe and you can read more about the early combinations here.
On Saturday, we focused on the position battles on the third and fourth lines. Brian Duff talked with C.J. Smith, Evan Rodrigues and Nick Baptiste.

And on the written side, check out how Rasmus Asplund has adapted to his first NHL training camp.
If training camp goes anything like the Prospects Challenge for Rasmus Asplund, it's safe to say it will have been a success. The 20-year-old stood out in all three games for Buffalo at the tournament, which he capped with a four-point outing in the finale against Boston.
Asplund scored what might have been the goal of the tournament in that last game, slicing through a trio of defenders and burying a shot from in-tight. But what was equally impressive was how he carried himself - poised and strong with the puck, defensively aware and always ready to hit the open man.
It was the first step in an effort to prove he's ready to stick in the NHL, one that's continued through two days of his first North American camp.
"I want to make this team," Asplund said. "That's a good tournament to show that you really want to make the team and I think I really tried to bring my game out there. I think I did, too."
One roster move was made over the weekend. Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was assigned to the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL on Sunday, where he'll begin his first season in North America.

Home game tomorrow night

The Sabres' home preseason schedule opens tomorrow night at KeyBank Center when the Pittsburgh Penguins come to town for a 7 p.m. faceoff. That game will be shown live on MSG and will also air on WGR 550 with Rick Jeanneret providing play-by-play and Rob Ray commenting between the benches.
Tickets are on sale now.