Devils Forward Ejected for Brutal Hit on Sabres’ Tage Thompson

Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson left Sunday's game against the New Jersey Devils after taking a high hit from Stefan Noesen in the third period.

Noesen received a match penalty and a game misconduct for the play, while Thompson did not return. It's still unknown if Noesen will hear from the NHL regarding a possible suspension.

Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff provided an update postgame, saying Thompson avoided serious injury.

"Tage is good," Ruff said, per The Athletic's Matthew Fairburn. "Passed all the tests."

Thompson was reaching for a loose puck near the New Jersey blue line a little over five minutes into the third and final period when Noesen delivered a high hit on the Sabres forward.

The hit knocked Thompson's helmet off and sent him to the ice. He remained down before being helped off without putting weight on his left leg.

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Despite losing one of their top scorers, Buffalo held on for a 4–3 victory over the Devils to cap the weekend. However, Ruff was not pleased with how the game was officiated.

"Why isn't there a call after he gets cross-checked after he scores a goal?" Ruff said, about Noesen's pushing of a Sabres player into the net after the formed scored a goal. "In a game where there's all kinds of strange calls, why isn't there a call on that?"

The Sabres' response to the hit was also a topic of discussion among the coach and some Sabres players who touched on it after the game.

"Definitely a hit that you don't like. That penalty was well deserved," Ruff said. "I know I had a couple guys that wanted to go after [Noesen] right away. Where we were at in the game, there was going to be a time to even the score."

Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin said the team's lack of immediate reaction "cannot happen again," while forward Jason Zucker downplayed the issue, saying the best response was securing two points.

"Our response is we won," Zucker said. "(Noesen) made two plays that cost their team the win. So we'll take that all day."

The win didn't change a lot for a Sabres team that still trails all other Eastern Conference teams with 47 points in 52 games and a paltry 21-26-5 record.