Three Takeaways From The Buffalo Sabres 3-2 Victory Over The Minnesota Wild
Sabres ride Levi’s 33-save performance to victory over Minnesota
Three Takeaways From The Buffalo Sabres 3-2 Victory Over The Minnesota WildThe Buffalo Sabres bounced back from an overtime loss in Carolina earlier this week with a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild at Key Bank Center on Friday night.
J-J Peterka scored the game-winner early in the third period, but the Sabres held on at the end, as Joel Eriksson-Ek’s power-play goal narrowed the lead and Minnesota pressed for the tying goal late in regulation. Henri Jokiharju and Jeff Skinner also scored for Buffalo, but the star of the game was rookie Devon Levi, who made 33 saves for his third victory of the year.
Here are three takeaways from Buffalo’s 3-2 win over Minnesota:
Levi’s Best Performance Of The Year
While Devon Levi performed well in his first four starts (in spite of going 1-3) and in his win over Toronto last Saturday, the 21-year-old rookie was a difference maker in the win over the Wild on Friday, earning first-star honors and making 33 saves.
"You need your goalie to make some big saves for you or keep you in the game. Keep momentum for you and he did that tonight." Tage Thompson said after the game. "We don't get that one if he doesn't make some of those big saves."
Peterka = Mr. Consistency
The Sabres were hoping after his performance at the World Championships in May that J-J Peterka would be in a place to take a big step forward, especially after the loss of Jack Quinn to a torn Achilles. Through 14 games, he has not disappointed and has arguably been Buffalo’s most consistent goal scorer next to Jeff Skinner.
With his game-winner on Friday, the 21-year-old has six goals (tied for second with Thompson) and four goals in his last seven games.
Savoie Plays Very Little In Debut
To say that Matthew Savoie played protected minutes in his NHL debut would be an understatement. The 19-year-old played just five shifts and 3:55 on Friday and had no shots on goal. If you contrast that with fellow junior teammate Zach Benson in his six games, the 18-year-old averaged 13:17 and his lowest TOI was 9:49 against Ottawa on October 24.
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