Sabres send goaltender Devon Levi to AHL’s Rochester Americans

A promising young netminder is heading down to the minors.

When speaking to the media on Monday, Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff told the media that the team will be sending goaltender Devon Levi down to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Rochester Americans.

“We got to get him some games, get him playing,” Ruff said. “It’ll be the best thing for him. Simple as that, he needs to play…I think it was one game in a month. That’s not easy on a young goaltender because you need to find some rhythm.”

Levi had started the last two games for the Sabres, making 27 saves in a win over the St. Louis Blues last Thursday before allowing four goals in a loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.

Ruff confirmed that he and Levi had a good conversation after the decision to reassign him to the AHL.

“Nobody likes to go down, but he wants to play, too. He said it’s the first time he’s really dealt with that long a period of time… He’s a highly competitive kid. You watch his practices. He’s 100% go all the time.”

With Levi’s demotion, Ruff confirmed that Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is ready to return to the lineup. UPL was listed as day-to-day, having sat out on the last two games. Moving forward in Buffalo, the duo will be Luukkonen and James Reimer. Reimer was claimed off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks just last week, just over a month after the Ducks took the veteran netminder off waivers from the Sabres.

In seven appearances this season, Levi has a record of 2-5-0 with a 3.95 goals-against average and a .870 save percentage. In 37 career games, he is 17-15-2 with a 3.22 GAA and a .896 SV%.

The Sabres (8-9-1) are tied for sixth in the Atlantic Division with the Ottawa Senators in points (17), eight behind the first-place Florida Panthers. Buffalo is set to begin their California road trip on Wednesday when they face the Los Angeles Kings.