K-9

If our goalie situation hadn’t been so putrid, I wouldn’t have expected him to grab the crease so soon, either. But given the poor quality of play at the position for most of the season it wasn’t a high hurdle so I’m not surprised Levi was given the opportunity. Pretty easy decision for KA and I hope we see Levi getting the bulk of the work moving forward.

And of those four goals allowed at least three of them were of the fluky variety. I don’t recall him getting beat by a great snipe yet. He’s such an athletic goalie; fun to watch. And competitive as hell. Can’t teach that.

Levi’s superior mobility and quickness is noticeable compared to not only our other goalies but also superior to other goalies in the NHL. Real deal indeed.

When did that go into effect? Other college players like Cale Makar for instance, signed well after the trade deadline and were eligible for the playoffs immediately. EDIT: After reading several posts after your response to mine, I found the clarification. If Levi were a free agent signed after the trade deadline then he’d be ineligible but since the Sabres held his rights as a player, he was eligible the day he signed his contract.

Why wouldn’t Levi be allowed to play in the playoffs?

I’ve accepted the fact he will never be a center but he can be an effective winger as long as he isn’t playing with another winger like VO. It’s also obvious that he has become a glue guy on the team and that’s not an unimportant factor for this young team at this current time.

I noticed Kulich was out of the lineup tonight. Anybody know why?

Gotta believe he gets the call on Tuesday vs the team that traded him. Truly a must win game and something tells me this kid thrives on those opportunities.

Yeah, he seems to read the play exceptionally well. Especially for such a young goalie. That save on Kakko in the first was all about the read and quick reaction to what he was seeing. UPL and Comrie would still be sliding to their left after the puck was already in the net.

Didn’t hear his name on a side note, front note, or back note. Which was great because he’s been a PITA against us in the past.

He doesn’t seem to commit to the shot until he sees whether he has to make a save low or make a save high. It won’t be as simple as “shoot high on Devon Levi” and you beat him. Imo, it will be a question of whether to go blocker side or glove side vs. going high or low. That doesn’t suck.

I’d say the kid is as advertised. We are gonna love him for a long, long time.

No single player can be a savior, but he can certainly be a key piece. Considering he had the second best career save % in college history (according to the graphic shown on MSG period periods) he certainly has the potential to be special.

Whats your vector, Victor?

Total fluke goal.

Ha ha, the “meh jag” finally does something.

Bite your tongue.

He’s been underwhelming to say the least. Look up “meh, jag” and you’ll see his picture.

Well, that’s one way to break the ice.

It’s also high reward whereas any of the other three are high risk only.

If the commodities are “known” to be substandard over a large sample size like, let’s say, an entire season to date, then they don’t deserve any benefit of the doubt whatsoever. Other than a handful of stellar moments, our collective goaltending group has crapped the bed. They haven’t carried this team to playoff contention in the least as it’s been the offense having to score four or more a game to offset their ineptitude to get us where we are. Indeed, better goaltending would have seen us already in a playoff position. While it’s not saying much at all given how poor we are between the pipes, the moment he signed, Devon Levi became the best goalie on our team. And I suspect the coaches and players are already well aware of that, which is why the decision to play him has nothing to do with putting things off until next year and everything to do with legitimately giving us the best chance to win a game.

Agree entirely. I’m hoping he goes on such a tear that his trade value goes thru the roof.

I think anyone can go up a level in a pinch because they have to in a pinch. But the hockey pundit’s larger point was that the Sabres have three D men with first pair abilities, Joki and Boosh are 3rd pair talents, and everyone else is a 7/8. We need another solid 2nd pair player.

I forget who the hockey pundit was that said it, but his assertion was that the Sabres, other than Power, don’t have a D man capable of moving up a pair when injuries require it. We’ve got a 7/8 pair in Bryson/Clague trying to play 5/6 with Boosh, who isn’t good enough to be a 2nd pair D, while we have a 2nd pair D man in Joki who isn’t good enough to move up to the top pair if needed. Ideally, Power finds a legit 2nd pair D man and Joki moves down to 3rd pair with Boosh. All of which was just a long winded way if saying the same thing you did; we lack depth at D.

As long as he’s balling as a winger.