'It was special' | Levi makes 31 saves in Sabres' statement win over Bruins

BOSTON – Devon Levi looked around TD Garden on Thursday and began to feel at home.

The 21-year-old was reminded of his time at Northeastern, where the goaltender was awarded MVP of the Beanpot after leading the Huskies to a 3-2 shootout win over Harvard inside TD Garden on Feb. 13, 2023.

Almost 10 months later, Levi backstopped the Buffalo Sabres to a 3-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday with friends, family, and former teammates in attendance, to hand the Bruins their fifth regulation loss of the season and just their second on home ice.

“I just looked up when I was out there, just looked at the banner that we put up there last year. You know, it was so special that day winning the Beanpot in this rink,” Levi said. “So, it felt like home, and it was great to come back here tonight.”

Levi, who was recalled from the Rochester Americans to fill in for an ill Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, stopped 31 of 32 shots to stun the Bruins and snap their three-game winning streak in an arena he holds close to his heart.

It was a special experience for Levi, who returned to Buffalo on Tuesday after playing his first two AHL games in Rochester, which included a 40-save performance for his first career AHL win over the Belleville Senators last Friday.

“You know, I think I learned some very valuable lessons when I was in Rochester,” Levi said. “Even though it was short, I still took a lot out of it. I think it was really good for me and you know, I’ll remember that experience for a long time.”

Buffalo got off to a stellar start in front of Levi, holding a 19-6 advantage in shots in the first period, but the Sabres were unable to find the scoresheet. They were rewarded early in the second as Dylan Cozens won an offensive-zone faceoff and JJ Peterka released a quick shot off the draw to beat Linus Ullmark and give Buffalo a 1-0 lead 1:18 into the period.

Tage Thompson extended the lead with 3:03 remaining in the second after Connor Clifton broke up a play at the blue line and carried the puck along the right wall before feeding a no-look pass to Thompson in the slot.

The Bruins answered back 38 seconds later with a goal from Brad Marchand, but the Sabres stayed the course, continuing to play hard on pucks and using their speed to their advantage. Victor Olofsson added the insurance goal with 8:44 left in the third. The performance snapped the Sabres' four-game losing streak.

"It was an unbelievable team effort from everyone," Levi said. "Yeah, I think everyone’s just been pissed off about the way the last few games went. You know, it was time to turn it around. So, I think everyone was hungry today.” 

Coach Don Granato was pleased with his team's compete level for a full 60 minutes. 

"Tonight was a good, competitive effort," he said.

Here’s more from the Sabres’ big win in Boston.

1. The Sabres were without defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, who is day to day with a lower-body injury.

Owen Power took Dahlin’s spot on the top power-play unit and played on a pair with Mattias Samuelsson.

Power skated a season-high 28:27 and tallied five shots while Samuelsson skated 25:57, including over 13 minutes against David Pastrnak and Marchand, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Samuelsson added a team-high nine blocked shots in the victory.

"I had a lot of fun," Power said. "I mean, he's easy to play with. Obviously, he's one of the best guys defensively in the league, but he's also really smart with the puck. So, I think we did a good job kind of just reading each other, and he made it real easy for me to kind of step in."

2. Eric Robinson made his Sabres debut after being acquired in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday in exchange for a conditional seventh-round pick in 2025.

Robinson had a goal overturned in the first period as the Bruins used a coach’s challenge for goalie interference following a scramble in front of the net.

The forward played with the Sabres’ first penalty-kill group and finished his night with two blocked shots and a plus-1 rating after joining the 2-on-1 rush on Olofsson’s goal.

"I liked his play," Granato said. "Direct. He used his size well. I thought he was very good, very effective."

3. Clifton returned to TD Garden for the first time as a member of the visiting team after joining the Sabres during free agency.

The defenseman appeared in 232 regular-season games and 46 playoff contests for the Bruins over his first five NHL seasons. He put together a strong outing against his former team with the assist on Thompson’s goal along with two takeaways and a blocked shot in 15:29.

4. Olofsson felt the team fully committed to its game plan when the puck dropped, which resulted in the strong start in the first.

Buffalo limited Boston to just four shots at the halfway point of the opening period.

"I feel like everyone really took to heart to play it simple right from the get-go,” Olofsson said. “We didn’t try to do anything fancy. We made the game hard on Boston tonight and kept that going for 60 minutes.”

5. According to Natural Stat Trick, the line of Zach Benson, Dylan Cozens, and JJ Peterka outshot the Bruins 12-4 while the trio was on the ice together at 5-on-5.

Up Next

The Sabres return home to KeyBank Center to host the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

Tickets are available here.

Pregame coverage on MSG/MSG+ kicks off at 6:30 p.m. The puck drops at 7 on MSG and WGR 550.