Buffalo Sabres star settles a score a year in the making versus New Jersey Devils

The New Jersey Devils are feeling great after a 5-0 victory against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday afternoon. It probably wasn’t as dominant as the final score suggests, and Jake Allen single-handedly stole the game, but it was an overall effort that helped the Devils gain the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings while pushing their former coach Lindy Ruff further towards the bottom. 

However, before the Devils lit the lamp on the road, Buffalo wanted some fireworks. Specifically, star scorer Tage Thompson was looking for a fight. 

Thompson isn’t one to shy away from a fight, but it’s not exactly his first instinct. His last fight was almost a year ago, taking on Morgan Rielly last December, according to HockeyFights. He averages about one fight per calendar year in his career, but he had a reason for this fight, specifically. 

He took on Stefan Noesen, who isn’t afraid to take a fight himself. He just fought J.T. Compher earlier this week when he laid an illegal hit on Nico Hischier at the start of their 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings. Noesen is taking on a new role this season, and it largely has to do with fisticuffs. 

However, Noesen wasn’t “stepping up” here. He was targeted by Thompson. See, Noesen did something to Thompson last season that he’s clearly still thinking about. He hit him late in a February matchup between the teams after Thompson put up three points against the Devils. Noesen was given a match penalty for the hit, and Thompson called the hit “dirty” during the offseason on the Cam and Strick podcast. 

New Jersey Devils forward Stefan Noesen takes on Tage Thompson after an illegal check from nine months ago

On Friday, Thompson finally got his revenge. He challenged Noesen to a fight early in the first period, and he slightly got the best of him (although it wasn’t a particularly violent fight). 

Afterwards, Thompson seems to have buried the hatchet. He tapped Noesen on the shoulder when the fight was done, acknowledging that he took the fight and allowed this to get squashed. 

Thompson said postgame that he approached Noesen prior to puck drop and challenged him there. Noesen said, “he would give him one.” He certainly “gave” him one, and it seems like this situation is deemed settled.