BUFFALO, N.Y. — Following Buffalo’s 4-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Sunday, it was confirmed that Tage Thompson, the Sabres’ leading scorer, successfully passed concussion evaluations after sustaining a head injury. This incident occurred when Devils forward Stefan Noesen struck Thompson with an elbow, leading to Noesen receiving a match penalty. The NHL will review the play to ascertain if there was an intention to injure during the incident that unfolded at 5:11 in the third period.
The situation escalated as Thompson lunged for the puck near the blue line, only for Noesen to knock it away and collide with him, causing Thompson’s helmet to fly off. Thompson briefly lay on the ice before managing to rise to one knee and skate towards the dressing room. After the game, Noesen opted not to comment on the incident, and Devils coach Sheldon Keefe also refrained from discussing the hit during his postgame address.
Sabres coach Lindy Ruff expressed his dissatisfaction with Noesen’s actions but noted, “Tage is good. Passed all the tests.” Ruff further stated, “That penalty was well-deserved. I know I had a couple guys that wanted to go after him right away. And where we were at in the game, there was going to be a time to even the score.” However, the Sabres chose not to retaliate on the ice in response to the foul.
Just 21 seconds after Noesen’s penalty, Devils star Jack Hughes scored a short-handed goal, narrowing the Sabres’ lead. Buffalo successfully killed off two more penalties in the third period, maintaining their advantage and preventing a seventh loss this season while holding onto a multi-goal lead.
“Our response is we won,” remarked Jason Zucker, who netted a goal on a pass from Thompson, extending the Sabres’ lead to 4-1 late in the second period. “(Noesen) made two plays that cost their team the win. So we’ll take that all day.” Noesen was involved in a sequence where, after Zucker’s goal, he pushed the player into the net.
Ruff questioned the officiating, asking, “Why isn’t there a call after he gets cross-checked after he scores a goal? In a game where there are all kinds of strange calls, why isn’t there a call on that?” Despite the rough moments during the game, Thompson made a significant impact, contributing one goal and two assists to help his team secure their third consecutive win. With 26 goals this season, Thompson ranks among the top ten scorers in the NHL, leading the Sabres with 48 points across 47 games.
