Buffalo Sabres: Levi’s upcoming debut a bigger opportunity than you think
By Sion Fawkes
The Buffalo Sabres have been historically bad lately, but ironically enough, it gives Devon Levi a bigger opportunity than perhaps any rookie.
We don’t know when goaltender Devon Levi will play, but we do know that, barring anything unforeseen, it will happen within the next week or two. Whenever his inevitable debut occurs, even with the Buffalo Sabres playing at a historically bad pace, it will be an opportunity for the rookie goaltender to step up and help righten the ship.
Lately, we’ve seen goaltenders Eric Comrie give up 10 goals in a single game, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen give up four or more in seven of his last 10 starts, and Craig Anderson has given up five or more in his last two outings. Obviously, poor defense helped contribute to such poor numbers, but as NHL goaltenders, neither Comrie, Luukkonen, nor Anderson have held up their respective end of the bargain, either.
Overall, it’s a collective effort of poor defense and goaltending that has led to the Sabres putting up ultra-bleak numbers. And this is exactly why Devon Levi, one of the best goaltenders in the history of each respective level he’s played in, has a huge opportunity here.
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Levi can step in and at least show that, amidst poor defensive play, a goaltender can still put up a halfway decent game. Sure, I’ve had my reservations about starting Levi behind this team, but at the same time, I wanted to look at the other side of the coin and view the positives.
Starting a few games and playing well also provides an opportunity for him to go into next season as the frontrunner for the starting goaltender job in training camp. And that alone will give a lot of hope to Sabres fans everywhere.
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Overall, as apprehensive as I am regarding Levi’s eventual debut, I’m also excited to see if he can come in and man the net better than Comrie, Luukkonen, and Anderson have. We will all find out if this will be the case sooner than later.