Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Sabres will host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday for Buffalo's second preseason game of the year.
Once again, Buffalo will have an NHL lineup playing, while Columbus will have a lineup filled with AHL players from the Cleveland Monsters.
This is a necessity for Lindy Ruff’s crew, because this is the final preseason against NHL competition for the guys on the big club, as they get set to leave for Germany on Tuesday.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen played the full game in goal for the Sabres on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, which means Devon Levi will likely go the whole game on Monday.
Levi was handed Buffalo’s starting goalie job last year, but he got hurt in October. It became obvious it was a huge mistake, and the Sabres finally sent him down to the Rochester Americans, which turned out to be a very good move.
When former Amerks head coach, now Sabres assistant Seth Appert gave Levi the net, the Amerks were in danger of falling out of the playoffs. Levi then went 16-6-4, and Rochester wound up tied with the Monsters for first place in the North Division.
In his time spent in Rochester, Levi posted a very good 2.42 goals-against average and a sparkling .927 save percentage.
Rochester and the Syracuse Crunch went to the five game limit in their North Division Semifinal series, and Levi, again, played very well, with two games going to overtime and one to double overtime.
While in Rochester, Levi came up and played three games in Buffalo, and you could immediately tell he was a much better goalie. He posted a 1.78 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage.
Levi agrees that he made really good strides in his game in the final few months of the season.
"I was really able to find my rhythm," said Levi following practice on Friday. "I was able to feel comfortable, I was playing a lot. I was able to get into a flow, and I was having fun. I was having a great time.
"The boys were unreal in 'ROC'. They were an awesome team to play for. And when I came up to play a few games, I felt good there too. It was a really good second half of the year for me. I felt like I was able to get a little more experience under my belt and use it, and it got me excited for this year."
It was interesting to hear the 22-year-old talk about how the year unfolded. He says he could feel the difference as well.
"The main difference I felt was in my game," Levi said. "There’s a lot of people that feel that you need to play at the highest level to push yourself to be the best, but when I played the three games here, it was the best three games I felt that I had up here. So it really goes to show that my time in 'ROC' really helped me. I feel like I developed a lot, and I was really able to focus on what I wanted to work on. I wouldn’t give it up for the world."
Levi often goes back to his home in Montreal to train in the summertime. He says he got some really good work in.
"I had a good mix of off-ice and on-ice components," Levi detailed. "I was able to really hone into some things off the ice that I wanted to work on. Having the opportunity with time off the ice for a while gives you an opportunity to spend more time in the gym and work the strength. So just focusing on being 'goalie strong', that was my focus this summer, and it helped a lot. I feel stable, I feel strong, and I feel good going into the season."
During Friday’s scrimmage, Levi played the first 25 minutes and faced very few scoring chances. He likes Ruff so far, and what he’s bringing to the team defensively.
"You could definitely see that the guys are paying a lot of close attention to detail," Levi said. "I think Lindy’s really clear about what he wants, 'Apps' [Appert] and the rest of the coaching staff also, and I think the guys have a clear image of what they have to do. It’s just about execution."
Here are the lines for Monday's game:
Forwards:
Peterka – Thompson – Krebs
Benson – Cozens – Quinn
Malenstyn – Lafferty – Aube-Kabel
Zucker – McLeod – Greenway
Defense:
Byram – Power
Samuelsson – Jokiharju
Gilbert – Clifton
Goalies:
Levi - Sandstrom
Join Brian Koziol and me for pregame coverage starting at 4:50 p.m. ET on The Bet 1520.
Related
