Sabres forward Tage Thompson settled whatever lingering differences he had with Stefan Noesen by squaring off against the New Jersey forward on the ice on Friday.
The fight occurred 2 1/2 minutes into Buffalo's game against New Jersey and some nine months after Noesen leveled Thompson with an elbow to the head. It was the teams' first meeting since Buffalo's 4-3 win on Feb. 2.
TAGE. pic.twitter.com/ybBxHpu1eQ
As the teams lined up Friday for a faceoff in the Buffalo zone 2 1/2 minutes in, Thompson and Noesen dropped their gloves and exchanged numerous punches in a fight that lasted about 30 seconds. It ended with Noesen falling to the ice and the crowd cheering on Thompson.
Both players were issued five-minute majors for fighting.
Noesen's February hit on Thompson became a sore spot for several reasons, starting with how it happened.
Thompson was lunging for the puck at the Devils blue line when Noesen knocked it away and continued charging into the Buffalo forward by catching him with his elbow. Noesen's hit spun Thompson around, knocked off his helmet and sent him face-first to the ice.
Noesen was ejected in being issued a match penalty but did not receive further NHL discipline.
Sabres players, meanwhile, were second-guessed for failing to rally to their teammate's defense. While Thompson sat out one game, his teammates held a team meeting to address their lack of response.
«We spent time last year on this topic. That topic is really for me it's behind me,» Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said before the game, when reminded of what happened. «I think the way our team has handled every situation really from that point forward, we learned a hard lesson.»
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