Buffalo Sabres
Devon Levi was assigned to Rochester of the American Hockey League after practice Monday.
The 22-year-old goalie is 2-5-0 with a 3.95 goals-against average and .870 save percentage in seven games (six starts) this season. He’s allowed 19 goals on 123 shots (.846 save percentage) in his past five appearances.
“We’ve got to get him some games, get him playing,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “(It would) be the best thing for him.”
Levi has been relegated to the backup role behind Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, making only one start between Oct. 18-Nov. 13. That day, the Sabres reclaimed James Reimer off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks.
At practice Monday, Levi split reps with Reimer in one net while Luukkonen had his own. Luukkonen will return at the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday (10:30 p.m. ET; FDSNW, MSG-B, SN) after missing two games.
“We just had a great conversation with him,” Ruff said of Levi. “I mean, nobody likes going [down to the AHL], but he wants to play, too. He said it’s the first time he’s really dealt with that long a period of time. Good learning experience, but hard.”
Tage Thompson is also close to returning from a lower-body injury, but his status for Wednesday is still to be determined. The center, who leads Buffalo with 11 goals and 18 points in 16 games, was a full participant at practice Monday, skating in his usual spot on the top line.
He was injured in a 7-5 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 11 and has missed the past two games. Ruff said they’ll see how he feels Tuesday.
“It’s one of those ones where I’m better off missing 3-4 games instead of trying to play through it and making it worse and missing 10-15,” Thompson said.
Alex Tuch did not practice Monday and is questionable for Wednesday. The forward, who is second on the Sabres with 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 18 games, was given the day off while dealing with a “little bit of an ailment,” Ruff said.
Jordan Greenway “in all likelihood is week to week” with a mid-body injury, Ruff said. The forward, who had been playing through the injury, left practice early Friday, did not play Saturday and was absent from practice Monday.
Because of the injures, forward Isak Rosen was recalled from Rochester on Monday. — Heather Engel
