The struggling Buffalo Sabres may have emerged victorious over the New Jersey Devils on Sunday by a 4-3 final score, but they also lost forward Tage Thompson following a questionable high hit from Devils forward Stefan Noesen.

The hit from Noesen spun Thompson around and knocked his helmet off; there was also a notable lack of response from Thompson's Sabres teammates after the hit.

Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff indicated afterward that Thompson had undergone concussion testing and passed, via TSN.

“Tage is good. Passed all the tests,” Ruff said.

“That penalty was well-deserved,” Ruff continued. “I know I had a couple guys that wanted to go after him right away. And where we were at in the game, there was going to be a time to even the score.”

Sabres forward Jason Zucker was asked about the lack of a response by his teammates, and he answered that their response was the two points in the standings.

“Our response is we won. (Noesen) made two plays that cost their team the win. So we’ll take that all day.”

Thompson, who had a goal with two assists, did not return to the game. Meanwhile, Ruff was also upset that Noesen wasn't penalized when he shoved Zucker into the net following the latter's goal.

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“Whey isn’t there a call after he gets cross-checked after he scores a goal?” Ruff said. “In a game where there’s all kinds of strange calls, why isn’t there a call on that?”

The Sabres will next hit the ice against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.

Tage Thompson and the Sabres are likely headed to another year without the postseason

Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson (72) celebrates his goal with teammates during the first period against the Colorado Avalanche at KeyBank Center.
Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

Thompson and the Sabres have gone the longest of any NHL club without qualifying for the playoffs; their most recent appearance beyond game No. 82 was against the Philadelphia Flyers in 2011, and they were dispatched in seven games.

At 21-26-5, the Sabres are in last place in the Eastern Conference.