Rick Jeanneret, the longtime voice of the Buffalo Sabres, is “resting and doing well,” the team announced on Sunday, about 12 hours after he was transported to a hospital during the third period of Buffalo’s home victory over the Anaheim Ducks.
And, the team added, the 76-year-old Jeanneret, a Hall of Fame announcer, is looking forward to returning to the broadcast booth after the N.H.L’.s three-day holiday break. The Sabres next play at St. Louis on Thursday. Their next home game is Saturday against Boston.
The update came about an hour after The Athletic reported that Jeanneret texted the publication, writing, “Still kicking.”
The Sabres did not say why Jeanneret was hospitalized. He overcame throat cancer in 2014 and was fitted with a pacemaker in 2016. He had cut back his schedule and was to call about half of the Sabres’ 82 games.
Jeanneret has done play-by-play of Sabres games on radio or television since 1971, the longest tenure with a single team in N.H.L. history. He was honored by the Hockey Hall of Fame with the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award in 2012.
He opened the broadcast Saturday night dressed as Santa Claus, and was walking around the press box between the second and third periods.
He called the first two minutes of the third before the broadcast went silent for about 20 seconds and the color commentator Rob Ray took over the play-by-play. The pregame and postgame host Brian Duff replaced Jeanneret and finished the game.
Jeanneret was sitting up as he was being wheeled out.
BLUE JACKETS 3, DEVILS 0 Sergei Bobrovsky made 39 saves, Artemi Panarin had a goal and an assist, and Columbus beat the Devils at Prudential Center for its fourth consecutive victory.
Cam Atkinson and Oliver Bjorkstrand added first-period goals for the Blue Jackets, who trail first-place Washington by two points in the Metropolitan Division going into the holiday break. The shutout was Bobrovsky’s second of the season, 26th of his career and third against the Devils.
“I don’t know if it’s just like us he plays like that.” the Devils’ Taylor Hall said. “You have to have perfect shots, and it doesn’t seem like any goal is ever his fault.”
Atkinson opened the scoring at 4 minutes 3 seconds of the first period when he took a pass from Panarin and sent it past Devils goalie Keith Kinkaid for his 23rd goal of the season.
Bjorkstrand made it 2-0 just 1:28 later when he converted a pass from Alexander Wennberg for his fourth score of the season.
Panarin made it 3-0 on a backhand at 10:47 of the second period for his 11th.
Kinkaid allowed three goals on 11 shots before being pulled for Mackenzie Blackwood.
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