Oilers Devon Levi's Numbers Tell an Interesting Story

Something interesting is happening with Devon Levi in Edmonton, and I don't think we should get too hung up on one number just yet. The 24-year-old Oilers goalie has won five of his first six games. His goals-against average is 2.83, and his save percentage sits at .898. That's below .900, which tends to make people nervous when they're talking about NHL goaltenders.

But the Oilers are winning games with Levi in net, and some of his underlying numbers suggest there's more to this story than that save percentage tells us.

The Levi Numbers That Caught My Eye.

Start with the overall picture. Levi's .898 save percentage is slightly better than the NHL average of .892. That's not a huge difference, but it's positive. His 2.83 goals-against average and five wins in six appearances are encouraging, too. What I found more interesting was the shot-location breakdown.

Levi's high-danger save percentage is .788, compared with an NHL average of .811. That's an area he'll need to improve. These are the shots that can change a game quickly, and the difference matters. But look at his other numbers. He's stopping mid-range shots at a .911 rate, compared with the league average of .881. From long range, he's at .972, comfortably ahead of the .961 average.

In other words, he's doing a good job handling plenty of the shots he's supposed to stop. The challenge is dealing with the dangerous chances that leave a goalie with very little time to react.

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Could Levi Be a Little Grant Fuhr in the Making?

When I watched Levi play the other night, I couldn’t stop thinking about Grant Fuhr in the Oilers’ crease. I wouldn't put that comparison on Levi's shoulders just yet. Fuhr was Fuhr, and there aren't many goaltenders you can compare to a Hall of Famer and feel comfortable about. Still, there's an interesting point here.

Fuhr played behind some remarkable Edmonton teams that attacked relentlessly. He didn't need to stop every shot. He needed to make the saves that mattered and give his teammates a chance to win. Could Levi eventually develop into that sort of winning goaltender? It's an intriguing possibility, although six games aren't enough to tell us. What matters is whether Levi can keep making timely saves as the opposition gets tougher and the scouting reports get longer.

What Does Levi Need to Work On?

The obvious starting point is high-danger chances. His .788 save percentage in those situations is below the NHL average, and improving it could make a real difference. He'll also need to show that his strong mid-range and long-range numbers can hold up over a much bigger sample. Six games can tell us something, but they can't tell us everything.

For now, I'd resist the temptation to label Levi either the Oilers' answer in goal or another young goalie who hasn't quite figured it out. He's winning, his overall numbers are respectable, and the details are encouraging.

Maybe Edmonton has found something here. It's too early to declare that, but it's certainly worth watching. And isn't that part of the fun of following a young goalie? Sometimes the story starts taking shape before the numbers give us a clear answer.

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