Sharpen Up: September 28, 2018

The Sabres will play their final preseason tonight. They'll face the New York Islanders at Tribute Communities Centre in Oshawa, Ont. at 7 p.m. The game can be heard live on WGR 550.
Here's what you need to know.

Yesterday's practice

We took a closer look at last year's Swedish Hockey League Defenseman of the Year Lawrence Pilut, who is still in the hunt for an opening night roster spot:
Before the Sabres took the ice for practice on Thursday, they whittled their training camp roster down to 32 players. Rasmus Asplund, Victor Olofsson, William Borgen, Taylor Fedun and Scott Wedgewood were sent to Rochester ahead of the Amerks' game at Harborcenter on Thursday night.
One name that wasn't on that list: Lawrence Pilut. The rookie defenseman has managed to stick around with one preseason game remaining, against the New York Islanders in Oshawa, Ont. on Friday.
"I'm just trying to play my game," he said. "Being the defenseman that I am, the two-way guy with … offensive qualities, I feel like I'm trying to develop my game every day and I feel like that's going good so far."
Pilut is in the process of adjusting to the North American ice surface, which is smaller than the European ice he played on growing up in Sweden. He's looked anything but hesitant thus far, regularly joining the rush and making plays in the offensive zone.
Those are the qualities that earned Pilut Defenseman of the Year honors as a 22-year-old in the Swedish Hockey League last season, when he scored 38 points (8+30) in 52 games. They've also been enough to impress Sabres coach Phil Housley through three preseason appearances.
"I think it's just his calmness and poise with the puck," coach Phil Housley said. "He attacks the game the right way. He gets into the play, he'll make those moves on the blue line. It shows the confidence he has in his abilities."

Tonight's projected lineup

Here's how the team lined up at practice yesterday and this is probably pretty close to what we'll see tonight. We'll have more for you when Phil Housley addresses the media later this afternoon.
53 Jeff Skinner - 17 Vladimir Sobotka - 23 Sam Reinhart
92 Alex Nylander - 10 Patrik Berglund - 72 Tage Thompson
20 Scott Wilson - 37 Casey Mittelstadt - 21 Kyle Okposo
28 Zemgus Girgensons - 71 Evan Rodrigues - 29 Jason Pominville / 13 Nick Baptiste
26 Rasmus Dahlin - 19 Jake McCabe
82 Nathan Beaulieu - 8 Casey Nelson
45 Brendan Guhle - 5 Matt Tennyson
24 Lawrence Pilut - 95 Justin Bailey (F)
40 Carter Hutton
35 Linus Ullmark

The Sabres had seven players missing from practice on Thursday, a group that included forwards Jack Eichel, Johan Larsson and Connor Sheary and defensemen Zach Bogosian, Brandon Hickey, Rasmus Ristolainen and Marco Scandella.
Housley said those players will not make the trip to Oshawa for precautionary reasons.
"They've got some minor ailments," Housley said. "They're all day-to-day."
Defenseman Matt Hunwick also remained absent, but Housley said he's progressed in his recover from a neck injury. Hunwick has missed the entirety of camp thus far and is currently ruled out indefinitely.
"He's making strides, making improvements," Housley said. "He's still in the same situation he was before but certainly he's come along."

Amerks add 5 more to camp roster

After assigning Asplund, Olofsson, Borgen, Fedun and Wedgewood to Rochester, the Amerks defeated the Toronto Marlies 4-2 in preseason action at Harborcenter.
Watch: Youtube Video
From the Amerks' game recap:
After trailing 2-1 entering the final period of Thursday night's preseason opener against the Toronto Marlies, the Rochester Americans responded with three third-period goals to come out on top with a 4-2 win at HarborCenter in downtown Buffalo. The game was the first of a home-and-home series between the two teams.
Newcomers Pascal Aquin (2-0) and Wayne Simpson (0-2) posted multi-point performances while the Amerks reigning Rookie of the Year C.J. Smith also chipped in a pair of assists in the victory.
Veteran blueliner Nathan Paetsch opened the scoring for Rochester while third-year defenseman Arvin Atwal provided the game-winner later in the final frame. Adam Wilcox made 19 saves in a winning effort in his preseason debut.

Broadcast schedule announced

Seventy-seven games this year are set to air exclusively on MSG, including the team's opening-night matchup against the Boston Bruins on Oct. 4. The remaining five games will be broadcast on NBCSN.
-Click here to view the complete telecast schedule-
All Sabres telecasts on MSG Networks are produced and broadcast by the team's in-house broadcasting team and feature the Sabres broadcasters and analysts exclusively.
Calling the action on MSG telecasts are Foster Hewitt Award winner and Sabres Hall-of-Famer Rick Jeanneret, who embarks on his 47th year behind the microphone in 2018-19, and veteran broadcaster Dan Dunleavy, who returns for his sixth season with the Sabres' broadcast team. Rob Ray, a 15-year veteran of Sabres broadcasts, is in his seventh season as the full-time color analyst.
Brian Duff, who joined the Sabres broadcast team in 2011-12, will again serve as the full-time in-game host for all Sabres broadcasts on MSG. Veteran broadcaster Martin Biron will once again be a mainstay across all Sabres platforms in 2018-19, providing in-depth analysis before, during and after games.

Opening Weekend set to begin Thursday

"Opening Weekend" will take place during the team's first three home games of the 2018-19 season. The three games will feature a wide variety of activities, giveaways and special events for the whole family. Tickets are still available for all three Sabres games during Opening Weekend.
To kick off Opening Weekend, the Sabres will host a party in the Alumni Plaza on Oct. 4, beginning at 5 p.m. prior to the home opener vs. Boston at 7 p.m. presented by KeyBank.
The event will feature live music from Hollerado and a "You Make the Call" activity, which will allow fans to act as the Sabres' play-by-play announcer. KeyBank will also have a t-shirt giveaway for all fans in attendance at the game. The home opener will be the first of two Family Pack games during opening weekend.
On Saturday, Oct. 6, the Sabres will host a party in the Alumni Plaza before the team's 7 p.m. game against the New York Rangers presented by Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. The event will begin at 5 p.m. and will include a green screen photo booth and live music from Dwayne Gretzky.
All fans in attendance at Saturday's game, which is the second Family Pack game during Opening Weekend, will receive a free magnet schedule.
Opening Weekend will conclude with a party to celebrate One Buffalo Day in the Alumni Plaza on Monday, Oct. 8, prior to the Sabres' 3 p.m. Kids Day game against the Las Vegas 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.
Sabres alumni and Sabretooth will be on hand at each party to sign autographs and hand out giveaways. Sabres fans will have to chance to partake in activations and sampling opportunities from Buffalo Sabres' corporate partners. Food and beverages will be available for purchase throughout the weekend. All outdoor events will be weather permitting.