The Buffalo Sabres were raked over the coals on Sunday when they failed to step in after star forward Tage Thompson was rocked with a dirty hit from New Jersey Devils forward Stefan Noesen.

On Tuesday, the Sabres held a team meeting to address their concerning lack of response to their teammate being hurt, and according to head coach Lindy Ruff, there were some “hard conversations” involved, via TSN.

“We had some hard conversations,” Ruff told reporters Tuesday. “It’s over. What we discussed will stay inside the room and we’re moving on to try to win tonight.”

“It was dealt with yesterday. Everything,” forward Alex Tuch added. “Now we’re going to move on and focus on the positives of having three wins in a row.”

Forward Dylan Cozens, who has been the subject of trade rumors for the last several weeks, said that there were players on the bench who wished they were on the ice at the time of the hit on Thompson.

“I think there’s a lot of guys that wish they were on the ice when that happened,” Cozens said. “But we talked about it, we dealt with it and that won’t happen again.”

Whichever players reportedly wanted to step in and defend Thompson, they were unable to as departing the bench to join an on-ice confrontation would have automatically resulted in a 15-game suspension.

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The Sabres also failed to defend Ryan Miller in 2011 after a dirty hit 

Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller (30) makes a first period save on Boston Bruins left wing Milan Lucic (17) at HSBC Arena.
Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

The Sabres, who have failed to earn a playoff spot every year since 2011, were taken to task by outraged fans when they failed to stand up for goaltender Ryan Miller when he was trucked by Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic during a November 2011 game at Boston's TD Garden.

Miller missed several games as a result of the hit, while the Sabres were roasted by stunned fans in disbelief that they didn't more forcefully respond to Lucic after the blatantly dirty hit.

Sabres fans have pointed to this moment over the years as a defining moment for the franchise that has yet to return to the playoffs since that incident took place.