Buffalo Sabres: Reliving Rick Jeanneret’s “scary good” quip

17 years ago today, Jason Pominville gave Buffalo Sabres fans a memory that will last a lifetime. A memory still etched in the minds of all fans who saw it.

Let’s go back to 2005-2006. The Buffalo Sabres had a great season and finished fourth in the Eastern Conference. After defeating the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round, they would be taking on the Ottawa Senators in the semifinals. After a thrilling Game 1, the Sabres would win Game 2 and would take a stranglehold on the series after JP Dumont’s overtime goal in Game 3.

Ottawa would win Game 4 to stay alive, causing a Game 5 back in their home barn. With the score tied 2-2 after the third period, the Sabres and Senators would have to play more than 60 minutes to determine the winner.

If the Senators won, they would force a Game 6 back in Buffalo. As for the Sabres, a win would eliminate Ottawa and Buffalo would be advancing to the conference finals. The overtime did not start good for Buffalo as defenseman Jay McKee took a penalty, giving Ottawa a really good chance to win the game.

The chances of scoring a shorthanded goal in an elimination game sounds difficult. However, an unlikely hero would emerge. One of the penalty killers for the Sabres, rookie Jason Pominville. Talk about no pressure.

Not even a minute into the power play for the Sens, Pominville would get his moment. After the faceoff, Pommer got control of the puck. After getting it past center ice, he would absolutely burn Daniel Alfredsson who was a forward on defense.

Now may I remind you, Alfredsson was a very good player and a rookie made him look bad. Pominville would beat Alfredsson and bury the puck into the net, giving the Sabres the victory and sending them to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Buffalo Sabres advanced to Eastern Conference Finals on May 13th, 2006

Once again, another classic call by Rick Jeanneret. Something about the month of May for the Sabres. The following season, Game 5 against the New York Rangers occurred in May. Chris Drury tying the game up with 7.7 seconds to go with Maxim Afinogenov winning the game in overtime.

As a 25-year-old kid, this happened 17 years ago and it still gives me chills. It’s crazy that it happened on this day. Every franchise in all sports leagues have a moment that you remember when you think of them. In my opinion, this moment has to be on every Buffalo Sabres fans list who was able to witness this moment.

People forget that when that season started, Buffalo was not even supposed to be this good. That’s why RJ said “scary good.” When I think of Jason Pominville, this is the moment he is connected to and he is a fan favorite whenever he comes back to Buffalo. Not only for this goal but just because he was a good and hardworking player.

It’s mind boggling that this happened 17 years ago but it’s a great memory and gives me hope this current Sabres team will be back in the postseason very, very soon.