NHL Sabres Broadcaster Has Medical Issue During Game

Buffalo Sabres broadcaster Rick Jeanneret was removed from the KeyBank Center press box on a stretcher during the third period of the team's game Saturday night and taken to Buffalo General Medical Center.

According to USAToday, Jeanneret, 76, was feeling light-headed on the air and stopped talking during the broadcast of the game against the Anaheim Ducks. He had called the play-by-play as normal for the first two periods, but his voice was noticeably lower as the game resumed in the third period and there were some gaps in his call.

In his final sequence of the night, Jeanneret was following the Sabres' advance of the puck into the Anaheim zone, when he suddenly went silent on the air.

As the game continued, there was no commentary for 23 seconds until analyst Rob Ray took over calling the game from between the benches. Sources said Ray was told via his headset to call the game because there was a technical problem in the booth.

The broadcast continued with Ray at the mic while intermission host Brian Duff moved to the press box to continue to call the action the rest of the way. Duff then returned to his 200 Level post to do his regular postgame wrapup with former Sabres goaltender Martin Biron. There was no mention of Jeanneret's situation on the air before the broadcast signed off.

The Sabres had no further comment on the situation, and members of the broadcast team, both on air and behind the scenes, did not respond to texts on what had happened.

#SantaRJ is tossing surprise presents to fans 🎁

He's the absolute best. pic.twitter.com/H4jilSSKjv

— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) December 23, 2018

Jeanneret seemed in fine spirits before the game, as he appeared on the pregame show dressed as Santa. During one break in play in the first period, still dressed in the Santa suit, he tossed prizes to fans in the 300 Level below his booth. By the start of the third period, Jeanneret had changed out of the suit into street clothes.

Jeanneret was reported to be "resting and doing well" at Buffalo General Medical Center, the team said in a statement Sunday morning.   He was having his pacemaker data analyzed.

Jeanneret, who started with the team in 1971, was presented with the Foster Hewitt Award for outstanding broadcasting by the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012. He survived a bout with throat cancer four years ago and had a pacemaker inserted in 2014.