In Columbus, the Sabres’ Connor Clifton scored with three minutes gone in the third period to give Buffalo a 2-1 lead they would hold for the win over the Blue Jackets on Friday night. 
It was Clifton’s first goal in 71 games.
“I don’t think he (Daniil Tarasov ) saw it and it ends up going in,” Clifton said. “He catches it if there’s no netfront presence there.”
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 25 saves in the win.
“We did a good job defensively,” Luukkonen said. “It wasn’t a perfect game by any means but we kind of pushed them outside, we got sticks in their shooting lanes, put bodies in their shooting lanes.
“It was an important win. It’s kind of what we’ve been missing this year, winning these 2-1 games. Everybody played well.”
The Sabres moved to 26-27-4.
“The guys were very intense,” Buffalo coach Don Granato said. “The pace was high. The compete was high. When we have those two things, things usually work out for the better.
“When you have three stars of the game and two of them are goaltenders, that tells you something. Both teams generated some chances. We generated a lot more and probably should have had a couple more (goals). That’s the way it goes. As long as you have enough to win. I’m pretty happy with that.”
Columbus took a 1-0 lead in the opening stanza when Dmitri Voronkov hit off the power play at 12:05.
The Blue Jackets dropped to 18-28-10.
“We’ve got to try to find a groove and keep rolling every single game,” Columbus’ Johnny Gaudreau said. “Once you feel comfortable and confident as a team you have to do it again the next game. Obviously, we’re not there yet.”
The Sabres tied the game, 1-1, with a strike by Zemgus Girgensons at 16:16 of the first.
Tarasov made 35 saves in the loss.
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