The Buffalo Sabres had only the Washington Capitals separating them from their second ever appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals. The odds-makers were favoring them in this Eastern Conference Finals and the Sabres themselves apparently thought they were shoo-ins. However, Ozalf Kolzig had something else in mind. He took the series by the horns and corralled a berth in the Finals against the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings.

Buffalo won the first game and were leading 1-0 when a series of events took place that were to deny Buffalo it's place in the Finals. The Capitals control the puck late in the second period when Peter Bondra ties up Dominik Hasek with an obvious interference and then skates right in the middle of the blue painted crease where he deflects a shot from the point top shelf where Grandpa hides his dentures. That goal, which should have been disallowed, puts the Capitals on the board and tied with the Sabres 1-1 and there's only 5 seconds left on the clock. The man with every hair sprayed firmly into place on his head, Kerry Fraser refuses to go to the video judge to review the play. Rumor has it that he was trying to impress President Clinton, who was on hand for his first ever NHL hockey game.

In the third period of that same game, Hasek chases after the puck in the corner to clear it and Bondra smashes into the Sabre goalie, clearly violating NHL rules of interference. The Dominator loses his cool and throws his blocker at the escaping Bondra. Fraser, still trying to win the approval of Bill Clinton (and maybe Monica) gives Hasek an "unsportsmanlike conduct" penalty and Bondra is ruled innocent once again. The Caps score to go ahead of the Sabres, but Matthew Barnaby ties it up for the Sabres with less than a minute to go. Bam Bam does a wild celebration after the goal, and that comes back to haunt the team. Capital coach Ron Wilson gets a video clip of the Barnaby celebration and plays it during the intermission before the overtime. That gets the Capitals riled up and they come back and Todd Krygier scores to win the game.

In game three, the two teams once again go into overtime. This time it is Bondra who scores the OT goal to give the Caps a 2-1 series lead. In game 4, Joe Juneau (who now is a Sabre who has only one playoff goal for Buffalo) scored from center ice on Hasek to put the Caps up 2-0 in the third period. They Sabres were not able to come back in that one. Game 5 has Hasek finally playing at his peak as the Sabres win 1-0, getting Buffalo back in the series 2 wins to Washington's 3. With only six minutes left and Buffalo leading 2-1, Don Koharski imitates his fellow referee "Mr. Magoo" when he pretends he can't see ex-Sabre Phil Housley trip Brian Holzinger as the "zinger" has a breakaway on Olie the Goalie. NO PENALTY! Can you imagine that? During the same play, the Caps come back down the ice and score on Hasek! And then in overtime, Joe Juneau - the man the Sabres desperately need to perform the same magic this year, pounces on a loose puck in the crease and scores the series-ending goal!

The Sabres were denied an entrance into the Stanley Cup finals because of the inept (or crooked) officiating of NHL referees. But they also lost because Olie the Goalie outshone Hasek and proved once again the Dominator only dominates in the regular season.