ROCHESTER – The fifth puck past Americans goalie Devon Levi, a shot from the far bottom of the right circle, forced coach Mike Leone to make a late goaltending change.
For the just the second time in his 76-game AHL career, Levi, the Buffalo Sabres’ top goalie prospect, got yanked from a game.
In Wednesday’s 6-4 loss in Blue Cross Arena, the Amerks roared back late, scoring three straight goals after the Belleville Senators went up 4-0 just 59 seconds into the third period.
When winger center Riley Fiddler-Schultz scored the Amerks’ third goal in a span of 2:20 at the 8:34 mark, it felt like they would ride the momentum and tie the game.
Then 65 seconds later, Arthur Kaliyev scored on a shot Amerks coach Mike Leone expected Levi to stop, restoring Belleville’s two-goal lead.
That was enough for Leone, who replaced Levi with rookie Topias Leinonen.
“He’s got to be better,” a blunt Leone said of why he pulled Levi. “Like, I mean, I don’t know what you want me to say. Like, I know he’s a really good goalie, but it’s not about him. It’s about the team.”
Right now, Levi, 23, having allowed 14 goals in his last three starts, is in his worst slump since joining the Amerks early in 2023-24.
In those games, he has registered a 1-2-0 record with a 5.09 goals-against average and .820 save percentage. He made 23 saves in Wednesday’s loss.
“I’m just being honest,” Leone said. “I understand that that’s a lot of goals in a three-game stretch, you know what I’m saying? We believe in him. At the same time, part of development is we need a save. Like, the fifth one can’t go in, you know what I’m saying? Like, it just can’t. Like, I understand. I was the one who pulled him twice.”
Levi hadn’t been pulled since Feb. 15, when he allowed four goals on 11 shots in the opening 35:42 of a 5-2 loss to the Laval Rocket.
“Anyone who knows me, if you play well, you’re going to play,” Leone said. “It’s the same thing for a goalie. Just because his name’s Devon Levi doesn’t mean he can’t get pulled or not play good. Like, it’s a team effort. Like, it’s part of his development.
“At the same time, we believed in him, I believe in him. He’s been really good for us. But if someone plays bad, like, you got to play better.”
Overall, Levi has compiled a 6-2-0 mark with a 2.96 goals-against average and an .892 save percentage in eight outings this season. His career numbers with Rochester – a 47-21-10 record with a 2.35 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage – are terrific.
After making Buffalo’s opening night roster in each of his first two full pro seasons, the Sabres seem intent on keeping him in the minors this year for a full season of development.
The Sabres have three goalies on their roster: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Lyon and Colten Ellis, a rookie they claimed off waivers before the season.
The Amerks begin a two-game road trip Friday against the Hartford Wolf Pack.
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Since the Sabres assigned defenseman Ryan Johnson to the Amerks on Oct. 16, he has resumed skating big minutes alongside Jack Rathbone, his partner throughout last season.
Johnson, 24, made the Sabres out of training camp but averaged just 9 minutes of ice time over three games before going down.
Returning to Rochester for his third season offers Johnson, whose legs are his best asset, an opportunity to hone his defending skills.
“Positionally and … awareness of the puck is something I definitely agree I can work on,” he said.
Johnson, the 31st overall pick in 2019, also wants to develop more confidence and poise with the puck.
“Not just making the right play as far as getting rid of the puck, but having a little more (creativity),” he said.
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The 13 assists that defenseman Zac Jones recorded in 11 games for the Amerks before the Sabres recalled him for the second time this season rank second in the AHL.
The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Jones has registered every point on the power play.
“I’m a smaller guy, so I know to be able to play at the pro level, I need to put up points,” he said Monday in KeyBank Center.
Leone said Jones, 25, possesses “elite hockey sense.”
“He really moves the puck, he has really good awareness of where the other four guys are on the ice,” he said. “He’s an elite power-play guy. I think he can run a power play at the NHL level, there’s no question about it.”
Jones hadn’t played for the Sabres entering Thursday’s road game against the Colorado Avalanche.
