BUFFALO, N.Y. — Tage Thompson had a goal and two assists before leaving the game in the third period after taking a check to the head, and the Buffalo Sabres held on to beat the New Jersey Devils 4-3 on Sunday.
JJ Peterka, Ryan McLeod and Jason Zucker also scored for the Sabres, who won their third in a row. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 21 saves.
Devils forward Stefan Noesen received a game misconduct penalty when he elbowed Thompson’s face at 5:11 into the third period.
Thompson was lunging for the puck near the blue line when Noesen knocked it away and continued charging into Thompson. The hit knocked Thompson’s helmet off and spun him around.
Buffalo’s top scorer was down on the ice for a moment before rising to one knee and skating off the ice on his way to the dressing room. Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said Thompson “passed all the tests” after the hit and is expected to be available to practice Monday.
“I didn’t watch the replay of hit until after the game,” Ruff said. “Definitely a hit that you don’t like. That penalty was well deserved. I know I had a couple of guys that wanted to go after [Noesen] right away.”
Paul Cotter scored two goals for the Devils in the opener of a two-game trip. Jack Hughes had a short-handed goal 21 seconds after Noesen’s penalty to get the Devils within a goal. Jake Allen stopped 23 of 27 shots before getting pulled late in the second period. Nico Daws made seven saves.
After Thompson scored his 26th of the season, Peterka and McLeod put the Sabres in front 3-0 by the end of the first period.
McLeod chipped the puck away from New Jersey’s Dougie Hamilton along the wall in the defensive zone leading to his short-handed breakaway, and beat Allen with a backhand to give Buffalo a three-goal lead with 29 seconds remaining in the first period.
Rasmus Dahlin had two assists to move ahead of Mike Ramsey for the second-most points among Sabres defenseman with 331.
The Sabres, the last-place team in the Eastern Conference, are on a three-game win streak for the fifth time this season. They have not won four in a row since January 2023.
While matching the Sabres with their own short-handed goal, the Devils’ second-ranked power play went 0 for 5. Two of those opportunities came in the third period.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.