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UPL was the back up.

And Karmanos came to keep him company ?

Does anyone know who the backup goalie was in the Boston game? I missed the very start. I was thinking Boston would be a good game for Ellis to play. Is the Ellis back problem gone?

Fake news …… CNN? .. He’ll be up by mid season. Probably sooner

Yes, after the first Boston goal and after the 3rd Boston goal. The Bruins 1st and 4th line played good, he rest of that team is dreadful, but the Sabres refused to step on the gas peddle.

The coaches are not top quality.

who is playing better this year than they did at the end of last season? Benson, and Kozak, and ...

Judging by the length of this thread I think he hit something.

Here is the quote from the Athletic. (sorry, paywall.) This story came out before Ellis being claimed. Was that the straw? Levi doesn’t mind the added competition. In fact, competition, he says, is his favorite part of his position. “I want the challenge,” Levi said. “This is all you can ask for. It’s great to be able to find a way through adversity. It makes me excited. I’m excited to come to the rink and prove to myself and to everyone what I’m capable of.” https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6645240/2025/09/19/sabres-training-camp-levi-ruff-samuelsson/?source=emp_shared_article

He has an audience. Enough of one where he can sell ads. Seneca Casino is a big one, which is ironic since they are one of the Sabres big sponsors too. He's also pretty abusive toward Craig Rivet. I don't get why he puts up with it.

Peter’s is a literal idiot and he has great animosity toward the Sabres because they canned his show. There is no reason to take anything he says about the Sabres seriously.

How you saw it is how I saw it. I'm not saying that anyone who takes the opposite view is wrong because one's perception is one's perception. What I found disturbing is the play of Dahlin and Tage. As I previously stated, it's obvious that both players are pressing and trying to force the issue instead of letting the game come to them. And it's becoming a pattern of play that's becoming noticeable.

One of Levi's first interviews was that he loves competition in net for the goalie position, Peters is just full of BS.

If Levi was a better goalie he would be playing, sadly he is only good at the lower level.

I just listened to the ATW pod that talks about Levi. First thing Peters says is "I don't care if is accurate." Okay. People who throw Molotov cocktails usually aren't worried about accuracy either. As long as something catches fire.

I think he’d look great in a Sharks jersey, the sound of the ocean gently rolling on to the beach would go a long way in soothing his mind.

I'm not worried about October vs October. I am comparing him now to his entire year last year. You don't want/need last October's McLeod, you need last Seasons Mcleod...and he simply is not playing as well now as he was for the year as a whole last year (he's also partially getting paid for his performance the entire year last year, not October. And again, its not just the mistakes he is making, his mistakes have come in closer games that have cost the Sabres goals. The goals allowed stats above you posted show that. What they do not show is that not only was he on the ice for those goals, his specific play, not his teammates, was directly responsible for many of the goals against. Trust me, I like him as a player. I was one of the leaders on this forum pounding the table to extend him as I thought he was one of the top 5 or 6 players on the team last year. I just am not seeing it this year (yet). I don't think he is a 'bad' or 'overrated' player. I'm just saying he needs to be better than he is now and he is one of the players that is noticably playing worse now than he did for most of last year.

Below is a snippet of McLeod for just October 2024 vs 2025 - 5v5. Eleven games vs. ten, but a higher XGF, and a higher XGF%. More Shots for and SF% is better. Actual Goals against is 2X (concerning?), but GF is ~60% more. My observation is they are driving play.

Sadly, Lyon's performance in the Boston game last night was not a whole lot different from a typical UPL performance. He made some saves, he let in some goals that most goalies would let in. When push came to shove, he was not able to make the biggest saves when needed. He was not a difference maker in the game. I fully agree that Lyon was a difference maker in some of the early games (including games they lost where he kept them in the game when the had no business being in it). That said, Lyon is an OK NHL goalie who had a hot run. I don't think he can be counted on to be the full-time starter for the rest of the season. I suppose that you could argue that what Lyon gives is equivalent to what UPL gives, at a much cheaper salary, and use that to justify trying to move on from UPL. Ellis is interesting, because he's only played 1 NHL game. Nobody really knows what he is or what he could become. He has proven talent at the AHL level and played well in his one NHL start. In the end, I think we're stuck with the 3-headed monster for a while. And while I realize that these guys are largely hung out to dry in the 3 on 3 OTs, wouldn't it be something if a Sabres goalie, ANY Sabres goalie, made a key game-saving save in an OT period? Somehow the opponents are able to get those saves when the Sabres get the breakaway or 3 on 1 in OT, but the Sabres are not. Maybe the Sabres shooters are just not very good....

I think the change in development path is thanks to having real life hockey adults in the room. The problem with a 23 year old Levi is that he sees the change in path as a demotion rather than a reset. And frankly that's understandable for a 23 year old. But honestly, were just bringing him along the way he should have been all along. The problem isn't today's situation. The problem was the situation he walked into. It's hard for a 23 year old to see that spending more time in the AHL is better for them then playing meaningful games in during a playoff push. But it really is a better spot for him. Whether he becomes an NHL starter is a different conversation. But you can't convince me that Adams sticks to this path for Levi without Ruff/Jarmo in the room.

Last year as the season went on he moved 'up' to a 2nd line role. Just before Cozens was traded, he was getting 2nd line minutes. After Cozens was traded, he was getting some nights first line minutes with 2nd line assignments. He also this year has been up and down in terms of 'responsibility' Shot answer, I did not factor in the exact competiton becasue that is really hard to do. Longer answer, there may some difference in the weighting of his competition/assignement, but it isn't a direct "one role this year vs a totally different role all of last year", and even if it was, the numbers are still way down. But above all, as I said in a previous post, I am noticing by watching the games mistakes he is making this year that he didn't make as often last year. Just my opinion.....sample size is really small yet.

That in no way shape or form was a penalty that should have been called

It makes so much more sense too. Was it Rickey that tried to sell of his hat to the highest bidder? They should just put the player’s face on the plaque and then a bunch of tiny logos below him.

Yes at many points in the game I thought they should be winning.

Are you factoring in that last year, he played 3rd line 5v5 verses this year playing a true second line? Which means his level of competition is much higher. And how does his offensive production compare to last year? I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the chemistry of McCleod with Tuch and Doan. I was an advocate of having Tuch moved to the first line after the injury to Norris but now I want to see our second line continue to flourish.