Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - For a while, it was uncertain if anyone would see a goal scored by the Buffalo Sabres in Rick Jeanneret's final game in the broadcast booth.
For 44:16 of game action, the pace of play was sloppy and mangled, and it didn't seem like the Sabres could get any action on the Chicago Blackhawks net. That changed when the Blackhawks made a careless mistake with the puck deep in their own end, and Tage Thompson scored his team-leading 38th goal of the season.
That woke up KeyBank Center, and it also got the ball rolling for Jeanneret.
From that point on, it only seemed fitting for Friday night's game to go to overtime. It only seemed fitting for the Sabres to win in the extra frame. It only seemed fitting to send Jeanneret off on the highest of notes possible for a team that missed the postseason for an 11th-straight season.
One more playoff run was just about the only thing missing for Jeanneret this season, as Buffalo rolled out the red carpet for the Hall of Fame broadcaster in his final season as the play-by-play man of the Sabres.
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Despite a rough start to the 2021-22 season, the Sabres closed out the final two months of the year with a 16-9-3 record in 28 games. That gives Buffalo 35 points in the standings over that span, and put the team at a 103-point pace over an 82-game schedule.
Although the team came up short of making the playoffs this season, the players did all they could to end the year as best as they could.
"I don't even know what's going through my head," said Casey Mittelstadt, who scored the game-winning goal in overtime on Friday night. "It's a great way to end the year. Great way to end it for RJ. Me and 'Cozy' [Dylan Cozens] were talking about it, and we're pretty proud to be part of his last call."
"It feels great to win, and to make this night that much more special for RJ - we owed it to him and the fans," added Thompson following Friday's win. "We didn't want to let them down."
While the energy at KeyBank Center was not as rousing as it was April 1 when the team raised Jeanneret's banner to the rafters, it did have its moments. Fans could be heard giving loud ovations for Jeanneret during the third period as time ticked down on an illustrious career.
The Sabres continued to pull out all the stops with videos honoring the 51-year veteran of the broadcast booth. Some fans in attendance were given an RJ t-shirt as they entered the arena, and were also given signs to thank Jeanneret.
The team was also able to turn around a number of Jeanneret's calls throughout the evening to play in-house for the fans, including the overtime winner that played just moments after the team celebrated the win at center ice.
After the game, Jeanneret gave a chilling send off on the broadcast before exiting the Ted Darling Memorial Press Box one last time to join the fans assembled on the ice for Fan Appreciation Night.
"Time passes for everyone. Eye sight fails, as does reaction timing. With me, it works like the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak," Jeanneret said. "Thanks for traveling around with me on this road for the last half-century. All of you, thank you very kindly. It's been a helluva ride."