GDT: Rangers at Sabres-03-31 7:00PM Levi debuts

[K-9]

  On 4/1/2023 at 2:26 AM, PromoTheRobot said:

On a side note, did anyone hear Pat Kane's name tonight?

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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. 

[Doohicksie]

  On 4/1/2023 at 2:30 AM, K-9 said:

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. 

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One thing Anderson said earlier in the year is that one thing that helped him stay in the league this long was his ability read the play and know where the shot is coming from.  Comrie and UPL don't have that.  They play the technical game of positioning and hoping the puck hits them.  One game in, Levi seems to have that play-reading ability.  He made a couple of saves in traffic that the other two wouldn't have made, actively saving the puck based on where he thinks it's coming from and going to based on the play.  There were a few tonight that I thought, "How did he know that's where the puck was coming from?" when making saves in traffic.

Edited April 1, 2023 by Doohickie

[JohnC]

  On 4/1/2023 at 2:30 AM, OverPowerYou said:

Ralph Krueger would probably bench Devon Levi for the rest of the year after his performance 

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If Krueger were still here Levi would be sitting on the end of the bench with Skinner. 

[Doohicksie]

  On 4/1/2023 at 2:26 AM, PromoTheRobot said:

On a side note, did anyone hear Pat Kane's name tonight?

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Yes, but much in the same way we hear, for instance, Olofsson's name.  At this point he's not the player he once was and at this point I'll be disappointed if the Sabres sign him as a free agent.  He is not where this team is going.

  On 4/1/2023 at 1:39 AM, jad1 said:

Skinner is pure uncontrolled chaos on the ice.

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Chaotic Good.

[K-9]

  On 4/1/2023 at 2:39 AM, Doohickie said:

One thing Anderson said earlier in the year is that one thing that helped him stay in the league this long was his ability read the play and know where the shot is coming from.  Comrie and UPL don't have that.  They play the technical game of positioning and hoping the puck hits them.  One game in, Levi seems to have that play-reading ability.  He made a couple of saves in traffic that the other two wouldn't have made, actively saving the puck based on where he thinks it's coming from and going to based on the play.  There were a few that that I thought, "How did he know that's where the puck was coming from?" when making saves in traffic.

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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. 

[pi2000]

Levi allowed 2 goals on 3.64 xGA.

In a one goal game, that's the difference between a win and a loss.

That's how you make the playoffs. 

[Doohicksie]

  On 4/1/2023 at 1:46 AM, matter2003 said:

He definitely did not look out of place. Very solid debut.

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Really, just like Power's debut last year. 

There was some talk of drafting college players.  The good part about them is that when you finally get them on professional ice, they're a lot closer to NHL-ready than 18-year-old prospects.  They don't need as much development (kind of like the way NFL rookies are ready to contribute at the pro level immediately after college).

[Flashsabre]

Quinn And JJ look like they are ready to explode. So many chances. 

[Flashsabre]

 

[spndnchz]

Very nice game to be at

[JohnC]

Attached is a link from NHL.com that has the standings. 

https://www.nhl.com/standings/2022/wildcard

[Doohicksie]

  On 4/1/2023 at 2:56 AM, JohnC said:

Attached is a link from NHL.com that has the standings. 

https://www.nhl.com/standings/2022/wildcard

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Just keep winning and wait for Pitt and FL to crater.

[Andrew Amerk]

  On 4/1/2023 at 2:54 AM, Flashsabre said:

 

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Where did he get his equipment from?

Play-It-Again Sports?

[Doohicksie]

  On 4/1/2023 at 2:49 AM, Flashsabre said:

Quinn And JJ look like they are ready to explode. So many chances. 

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(When Tage is playing) we now have two true #1 lines.

[Mustache of God]

Start Levi until he loses a game. He's young, he can handle a back to back.

[Buffalonill]

If they dont start Levi tomorrow they gave up on the season. 

Prove us wrong 

[pi2000]

  On 4/1/2023 at 3:10 AM, Mustache of God said:

Start Levi until he loses a game. He's young, he can handle a back to back.

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He's been playing back to backs for 2 years now.   It's what he does. 

[Mustache of God]

RIDE THE HOT HAND

[Weave]

Meh. Comrie would have had the shutout.

[Norcal]

Well *****, Greenway! 

Golf Clap for Levi 👏👏

The kid is a quote machine and not too bad at stopping the puck either. 

[French Collection]

A very nice win for the team and Devon. Well deserved.

He is not big but his quickness is impressive. He holds his glove nice and high to help cover the top of the net. His save on Tarasenko was a quick flinch of the shoulder, I think that shot was headed for the top corner. Very calm presence in the net, looks like Carey Price.

Mule was very effective tonight, made the whole unit better.

The kid line was great, the scary thing for other teams is how much upside they have.

I’m going to bed happy, Levi gives me hope.

[JoeSchmoe]

Was at the game, unbelievable ending, and awesome 1st period. 

In the hall up in the suites my wife said to my friend after the game, "That's so awesome for his parents, they must be so happy!". At that moment, Levi's mom walked by and said "Thank you!". 👍

[PerreaultForever]

  On 4/1/2023 at 1:50 AM, Mango said:

I hope so, but that was the dumbest goal. If you gave him 100 attempts he couldn’t repeat that again. 

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Dumb goal maybe, but his body positioning was perfect and he drove the net with his physicality. Something woefully missing on this team. 

[PerreaultForever]

  On 4/1/2023 at 1:59 AM, JohnC said:

I thought what distinguished his play was his good rebound control. His anticipation and positioning were superb. As far as size goes it is irrelevant because his other attributes such quickness, positioning and glove work compensate for his lack of standard size for the position. He may not be big but you can see that he stoutly plays, especially when there is traffic in front of him. He's an exciting prospect who is likely to contribute right away. 

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It's not "irrelevant". As I said, he may be able to overcome it, but he will have to be better than many other goalies to do that. Maybe he will be. Don't know yet. Rangers were not shooting high. As for puck control, he lost it several times between his pads, once resulting in a goal. Maybe first game nerves, but if he does that a lot there will be a lot of dirty goals against and teams knowing that will drive the paint harder. With our D, that may be a big problem. 

He is an exciting prospect, but it remains to be seen if will be set him back by rushing him in and/or how he develops. Looking at UPL's failures and lack of development I'm not sure we have the right goalie coach either. 

  On 4/1/2023 at 2:30 AM, K-9 said:

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.

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Possibly. Have to see more to be sure. 

[Stoner]

@spndnchz love the thread title edit. It tells the story of the game. And the original text no longer had any usefulness. Nice job.