1. Buffalo Sabres at Ottawa Senators, Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game One -- May 5, 2006

1-0. 1-1. 2-1. 2-2. 3-2. 3-3. 4-3. 4-4. 5-4. 5-5. 6-5. 6-6. 7-6.

I've seen a lot of hockey in my life, but I had never seen anything like Buffalo's 7-6 win over Ottawa.

To set the scene, the Sabres were the upstart that year, though I'm not sure you could find more than a handful of fans who weren't feeling mighty good about Buffalo's chances after the team trounced Philadelphia in uproariously fun fashion. But Ottawa loomed, and it was a Senators team that had beaten the Sabres in five of eight regular season contests.

Yes, the Sabres had won the last two April battles decisively, and had a history of handling Ottawa in the playoffs, but some of the losses to the Senators were disgusting. Remember the 10-4 loss to the Senators on Nov. 2, 2005? Ryan Miller broke his thumb in the pregame skate, and Martin Biron was forced to start. Biron was pulled, Mika Noronen came in. Noronen was pulled. Biron came back in. Yikes.

So, that specter was looming. Both teams went 52-30 that year, but Ottawa was the East's No. 1 seed by virtue of three more overtime losses. The Senators mowed through the Lightning with even more ease than the Sabres dispatched the Flyers, and Buffalo had to go up to Kanata for Game One.

Most of The Howard Simon Show was at a local restaurant, packed with guys and gals in Sabres gear. During that run, bars, restaurants and living rooms felt almost as electric as the arenas hosting the games. This was the birth of car flags and odd collectibles, for better or worse.

The game got off to a great start for Buffalo, who got out of the gate in a hurry. Derek Roy fed Mike Grier for the game's first tally just 35 seconds into the contest. The marker was the first of many bookend goals of the contest, as the puck shot back-and-forth, from wire-to-wire, with no downtime.

Jason Spezza and Bryan Smolinski struck twice in fifteen seconds for Ottawa, restoring the feeling of home-ice advantage, but only for a handful of minutes. The two goals were the only consecutive goals scored by a single team until the thrilling final minute of hockey. Teppo Numminen's power play tally was the last of the first period's goals.

Martin Havlat put the Sens up very quickly in the second period, but Tim Connolly turned the tide with a goal that still leaves hockey fans breathless. Down a man, Connolly picked up a loose puck in his own end, made a Senator fall down and then stickhandled through two guys before putting a backhand from a seemingly impossible angle past Ray Emery (Thank goodness Emery was their goalie, by the way). It may have been Connolly's finest hour. I get a feeling Connolly's agent sent that goal on DVD to Darcy Regier every day last year, because for a moment $9 million doesn't seem that outlandish.

Just 46 seconds later, it was Dany Heatley's time to try and punch the Sabres in the gut with his third of the playoffs. Thing is, these Sabres were unable to be shocked, save for a horrifying run of injuries. With thirty seconds left in the second period, Derek Roy netted Buffalo's fourth goal, setting the stage for the most exciting period of hockey in a long, long time.

Mike Fisher's full-face mask watched the future Mr. Underwood put Ottawa up 5-4 just 16 seconds into the final frame of regulation, and it didn't look good when Brian Campbell took a penalty with a power play expiring.

The Sabres would be short-handed for 1:41 or less of the final 162 seconds. That's not a good recipe, but Buffalo had something cooking: another short-handed goal. Roy tipped the puck around Ottawa's point man and gave the puck to Connolly. The two broke away on a 2-on-1, and Connolly made another silly move before sliding the puck to Roy, who put the teams on level terms.

Re-enter Bryan Smolinski, who put Ottawa up 6-5 about 24 seconds after Roy's emotional equalizer. At that moment, there was no more disgusting sight in the world than the smug look on Smolinski's face. In retrospect, it's a wonderful look. His comeuppance arrived in short order.

Derek Roy dumped a shot on net with 18 seconds to go that Emery didn't cover up, even with the puck resting one foot from his foot. Daniel Briere swooped in and threw the puck on net with a back, and with 11 seconds on the clock, Connolly flicked a huge rebound into the net.

It was hysteria. People were jumping onto the tables at the restaurant, hugging total strangers. We were headed for overtime.

You know what happens next. Chris Drury beats Emery for the game-winner, with assists to Mike Grier and Ottawa's Zamboni driver. Senators defenseman Anton Volchenkov lost the puck in a pool of water. Grier scooped it up and dumped it off to Captain Clutch. Game over and, in a sense, series over. Ottawa won Game Four in Buffalo for their only victory of the series.

The series was unequivocably the No. 1 story of the decade mentioned by our staff. The 7-6 game was No. 1 by far, while Jason Pominville's Game Five goal was talked about almost as much. If you're talking 2000-09, you'll have a hard time finding a better moment for Buffalo sports, but feel free to try.

Here's to a much better 10 years.

Email: nick@wgr550.com