While there were boos in the stands of the Bell Center in the third period, a sign of the fans' dissatisfaction with the Canadian, there was applause when the final siren sounded.
• Also read: The beautiful story of Devon Levi: from booing Zdeno Chara as a young fan to beating CH as an NHL goalkeeper
• Also read: A brutal return to Montreal
But it wasn't for the Habs, who had just suffered a 6-1 blowout loss to the Buffalo Sabres. It was for the Sabres' starting goaltender, Devon Levi.
Levi had an army of fans in the stands for his first career start in Montreal.
“I think there were 99 or 100 tickets, but luckily I didn't pay for all the tickets,” said number 27, bursting into laughter in the opposing team's small locker room at the Bell Center.
With 32 saves on 33 shots, Levi inherited the title of the game's first star. However, the young goalie from Montreal did not greet the crowd on the ice as tradition dictates.
“I didn’t even know,” he replied. Nobody informed me (first star of the game). »
A tribute to the 31st
Levi made one of his best saves in the third period when he pulled out his glove to block a shot from Cole Caufield.
“I've seen it (Price pulls out the glove) a few times and I wanted to do it here,” he explained. It was a play on instinct, but it was also a bit vintage Carey Price. It was fun. »
In the first phase, Levi also showed that he was more flexible than ordinary mortals by extending his block to frustrate Jesse Ylönen. A stop that allowed him to shake off a little nervousness, although he said he was very calm about this emblematic meeting.
“It was a good feeling, it was really close. But I knew the puck wasn't in. It was a matter of centimeters. It was a good way to get into the game. I felt good afterwards and had fun. »
A question without an answer
In the CH locker room, David Savard summed up this setback simply by trying to explain the reasons for Jeff Skinner's success against his team.
“We made mental mistakes and shot ourselves in the foot,” Savard said. There were several plays that we couldn't do. Skinner took advantage, he's the type of player who pounces on mistakes. »