New Buffalo Sabres goaltender Devon Levi had his first “bad game,” giving up six goals. But you wouldn’t know it given his postgame comments.
Last night, Devon Levi finished 26 for 32, with a 0.813 save percentage. It was, so far, his worst outing as a pro.
And okay, some of the goals he allowed were ones not even the best goaltender could have stopped. The Detroit Red Wings power play goal late in the second period from Alex Chiasson was one defenseman Rasmus Dahlin would have wanted back. And the goal credited to Simon Edvinsson 48 seconds later was a product of Owen Power in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The shot, which was going wide, bounced off Power and into the net, and there was nothing Levi could do. But Levi remained calm as ever, never once looking flustered when Jonatan Berggren glided down the ice on a breakaway late in the overtime period. The save guaranteed the Sabres a shootout, which Levi did just enough to help his team bring home the W.
Buffalo Sabres goaltender remained cool and collected in the net
So what did Levi have to say after he allowed so many goals to slip by? Check out the following snippet.
"“The puck’s going to go in. At the end of the day, you’re never gonna play a perfect game. It’s the NHL, the best league in the world. You kind of just flip the page. It’s gonna happen. You gotta love it. It’s a little bit of adversity, it’s not gonna kill you.” – via Buffalo News"
There is nothing more refreshing than having a goaltender, especially one whose NHL career has lasted a grand total of three games, just shrug at the performance and basically say, “onto the next one.” In the NFL, they say the mark of a good quarterback is one who plays with a short memory, and the same goes for NHL goaltenders.
Bad game? Who cares? Embrace the chaos, appreciate the adversity thrown your way, and most importantly, focus on the present. You don’t see that often from players as young as Devon Levi, but when you do, you know you’re getting a player who, under zero circumstances, will get rattled.
The ability to stay in the present helped the Buffalo Sabres win their first shootout since their November 30th outing against Detroit. And now, it’s onto the next one for Levi. Expect a couple more starts as the season reaches its final slate of games.
Source: Observations: Devon Levi goes back to back and Sabres’ offense supports him in wild shootout win by Mike Harrington, BuffaloNews.com