Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
Devon Levi has established that he can carry a team through the regular season.
Now the 23-year-old Rochester Americans goaltender is starting to find that same success in the Calder Cup Playoffs as well.
Levi pocketed two shutouts in three games as the Amerks swept the Syracuse Crunch in their best-of-five North Division semifinal series. With 30 saves in Thursday’s 4-0 series-clinching victory, Levi extended his shutout streak to 156 minutes and 31 seconds; he has stopped 90 of 92 shots so far this postseason.
After he signed his entry-level deal with Buffalo on Mar. 17, 2023, Levi’s first extended run with the Amerks came midway through the 2023-24 season, and he put together a dominant performance to take Rochester into the postseason. The Sabres wanted their top goaltending prospect to get ample playing time in a number-one role and Levi played 23 of the team’s final 36 regular-season games, finishing 16-6-4 with a 2.42 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage.
But the Amerks stumbled early in last spring’s Calder Cup Playoffs, falling to the Crunch in the division semifinals – despite Levi’s .923 save percentage in the five-game series.
He built on that work this season, taking on another heavy workload and going 25-13-4 with a 2.20 GAA and a .919 save percentage. He led the league with seven shutouts, and represented the Amerks at the AHL All-Star Classic.
Levi left the Crunch shaking their heads last round. Syracuse had its chances, but Levi held firm throughout. Now the Amerks await their next opponent and are already several days into what will be a substantial break before the division finals. That leaves plenty of time to break down either Laval or Cleveland into the smallest of details.
That could also bode well for the heady, analytical Levi.
A long playoff run is an important opportunity as the Buffalo organization continues its rebuilding project. Three years ago, Rochester reached the division finals with a group that featured Jack Quinn, JJ Peterka and Peyton Krebs. In 2023, the Amerks went to the Eastern Conference Finals with Jiří Kulich and Isak Rosén playing key roles.
Now this year’s group has that same chance.
“Regardless of the outcome, just being able to compete out there with the guys and play for something that is very meaningful, it jells a group, bonds a group,” Levi said after closing out the Syracuse series. “Everyone’s doing it for each other.
“There’s times where as a goalie you’re alone in your crease but you can feel the presence of your team and the unity, and that unity was definitely there in the series.”
The Amerks had their ups and downs coming into the final few weeks of the regular season before they eventually settled into a second-place finish in the North Division. But Levi has been a force nearly throughout. In his past five starts dating back to April 16, he has allowed all of five goals and stopped 138 of 143 shots for a .965 save percentage. Go back to March 28, and he has four shutouts in his last 11 starts.
May is here. June will not be far off. The Amerks have a top goaltender, and that makes them a very real Calder Cup threat.
As Levi told TheAHL.com in February, “I just love stopping pucks.”
On the American Hockey League beat for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.
