Devon Levi solid in debut as Sabres down Rangers

Jeff Skinner scored 1:50 into overtime, goaltender Devon Levi made 31 saves in his NHL debut, and the Buffalo Sabres beat the visiting New York Rangers 3-2 on Friday night.

In three-on-three play, Skinner skated in and split New York's Mika Zibanejad and Vladimir Tarasenko, then roofed his 32nd goal over Jaroslav Halak (31 saves) for the winner.

Buffalo (36-31-7, 79 points) won for just the second time in the past 11 matches (2-6-3) against New York.

Levi, 21, became the fourth-youngest goalie to play for the Sabres and the youngest since 18-year-old Martin Biron on Dec. 26, 1995.

A 2020 seventh-round pick by Florida (212th overall), the Quebec native was part of the July 24, 2021, trade that sent Buffalo center Sam Reinhart to the Panthers.

Levi flourished in a 15-shutout career at Northeastern, boasting a 1.90 goals-against average and a .942 save percentage, the latter the second-best mark in NCAA history.

Buffalo's JJ Peterka hit the back of the net, Jordan Greenway returned after missing four games and scored, and Casey Mittelstadt had two assists.

The Rangers (44-21-11, 99 points) got goals from Kaapo Kakko and Adam Fox but lost for the second straight night.

They stretched their point streak against Buffalo to 12 games (10-0-2) and finished 10-4-2 in March.

In the first period, Peterka gave Levi an early lead after fighting through contact with New York's Vincent Trocheck and finishing a slick pass from Dylan Cozens for his 11th goal at 11:20.

During a light first 20 minutes of work, Levi stopped both of New York's shots, the best being Chris Kreider's from in close 30 seconds after Peterka's tally, as Buffalo held a 11-2 shot advantage.

With a strong power move at 7:39 of the second, Greenway took a neutral-zone flip pass by Mittelstadt and muscled his way past New York's Ben Harpur, scoring his fourth goal -- his second with Buffalo -- on a one-handed shot.

The Rangers finally solved Levi when Kakko reached out behind him and batted in a Filip Chytil chip for his 15th marker at 12:17.

But Levi got his revenge by making a sprawling, head-first save on Kakko's one-timer from the right circle with 84 seconds left in the period.

At 9:45 of the third, Fox tied the game at 2-all by shoving in his 12th goal as no one appeared to find the loose puck near Levi.

--Field Level Media

1/3: Mar 31, 2023; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres center Casey Mittelstadt (37) warms up before a game against the New York Rangers at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

2/3: Mar 31, 2023; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres left wing Jordan Greenway (12) warms up before a game against the New York Rangers at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

3/3: Mar 31, 2023; Buffalo, New York, USA; New York Rangers defenseman K'Andre Miller (79) handles the puck in the first period against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports