Gotta See It: Sabres call man must wear helmet

Veteran broadcaster Rick Jeanneret (right) calls the game between the Buffalo Sabres and the Los Angeles Kings from between the benches alongside Rob Ray at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo.

Safety first.

After an elevator breakdown prevented 71-year-old Buffalo Sabres announcer Rick Jeanneret from getting up to his usual perch in the First Niagara Center’s pressbox Tuesday, the man they call “RJ” was forced to call the game from between the benches.

The idea was actually RJ’s. He was kidding, but the Sabres equipment staff whipped up some head gear.

To save Jeanneret from getting clipped by an errant stick or a chipped puck, the Sabres provided him with a team helmet, complete with an “RJ” decal on the forehead and a full visor — giving him the look of a boy at the playground with the most overprotective mother on the block.

The full visor made accessing the microphone awkward, but an ill-fitting bucket goes great with his suit.

Maybe a broken elevator is good luck: The Sabres actually defeated the Kings 3-2 in a shootout victory.

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