2022-23 Surprises: Devon Levi’s debut for the Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres were horrendous in defense and goaltending during most of March. So starting a rookie with no NHL experience was foolish, right?

Throughout the first three weeks of March, the Buffalo Sabres were on the brink of collapse. They kicked off the month with a 7-1 loss to the mighty Boston Bruins. And things continued to look bleaker as the month dragged on, before they found themselves facing the New Jersey Devils with a 2-7-2 record in the month.

Buffalo beat Jersey, before they split their next two contests. And although the Blue and Gold looked like a better hockey team throughout the latter games of March, few would have found it wise to start Devon Levi behind such a spotty defensive rotation.

But as it turned out, head coach Don Granato inserted him into the starting lineup anyway on March 31st against the New York Rangers. And Levi stole the show with a legendary performance.

Buffalo Sabres goaltender Devon Levi won big in NHL debut

Okay, so he didn’t necessarily win big, but he saved 31 of 33 shots on goal for a 0.939 save percentage, helping to keep the Rangers scorers at bay while the Sabres did just enough against one of the league’s best defensive teams, even with an aging Jaroslav Halak manning the net on this evening.

Levi played so well, he shutout the Rangers over the game’s first 32 minutes, not allowing a goal until the 12:17 mark of the second frame, when Kaapo Kakko drilled one home. New York tied the game halfway through the third thanks to Adam Fox, and the contest remained at a deadlock for the rest of regulation.

But it only took 1:50 into overtime for Jeff Skinner to find twine off of helpers from Casey Mittelstadt and Owen Power, securing Levi a win in his NHL debut. The rookie goaltender would go on to start in six more contests, showing us that no stage is too big for him since the Buffalo Sabres were busy trying to stay alive in the playoff race.

Levi won four more games, and finished the year with a 2.94 GAA and 0.905 save percentage. His performances showed us he could be one of those rare breeds able to bypass the AHL, something that is exceptionally rare for goaltenders.

(Historical data provided by Hockey-Reference)