Oilers' netminder Devon Levi continues to impress

Last night's overtime win was Edmonton Oilers netminder Devon Levi's fifth of the young 2026-27 season. He managed a 0.900 save percentage, stopping 27 of 30 shots taken by the Minnesota Wild. The goals against were all tough saves for any goaltender to make, Levi didn't give up any easy tallies, allowing the Oilers to keep the score even through regulation, ultimately allowing Evan Bouchard to score the overtime game winner to cap off his 27th birthday.

The ask from a National Hockey League goaltender isn't the same every night. The concept is the same, but one's performance and margin for error is different in a tight checking 1-1 game than it is in a ten or twelve total goal affair. The key, naturally, is to outperform the other team's goalie, and that's something Levi has been consistently able to do.

More saves and fewer goals

Levi's first start of the season wasn't precisely an allstar performance. He finished the game with a 0.682 save percentage, which is downright ugly. But it was better than Kevin Lankinen's 0.600, which meant an Oiler win. Next he faced Philipp Grubauer, who stopped 23 of 25 Oiler shots, and that would 0.920 save percentage would be enough to win your team the game on most nights, but Levi posted a 0.950 and got his second win.

He recovered from a couple early goals against and posted a 0.935 as the Oilers trounced the Anaheim Ducks in a game where they avenged their playoff defeat, and an incredible 0.975 when the Oilers were significantly outshot by the LA Kings, allowing them to win a game where they arguably should have lost.

Levi's lone blemish was the loss the the Utah Mammoth. That game was a closely fought match though, where the true difference was the Oilers' inability to convert on multiple powerplays. Whild Levi surely would have liked to make another stop or two, only posting a .875, it was a game where neither team bombarded their opponent, with shots tied at 20 each. The encouraging thing, both from head coach Mike Babcock and from Levi himself, was that he was given another start this week against a very skilled opponent, and he delivered a victory once again. Levi doesn't seem intimidated by the players on the other end of the ice, and if he can maintain his impressive stat lines, he might remain the OIlers' starter when Frederik Andersen returns from injury. What's more, the Buffalo Sabres might regret giving up Levi for such a small price.