Clifton (upper body) is slated to play against St. Louis on Tuesday, per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports.
Clifton will return to the lineup in Pittsburgh's regular-season finale after sitting out Sunday's 3-0 loss to Washington. He has generated two goals, four assists, 34 shots on net, 83 blocked shots and 179 hits through 49 appearances this campaign.
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Penguins' Connor Clifton: Won't play Sunday
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Clifton (upper body) won't play against Washington on Sunday.
Clifton will miss at least one game and is day-to-day ahead of Tuesday's regular-season finale against St. Louis. He has produced two goals, four assists, 34 shots on net, 83 blocked shots and 179 hits through 49 appearances this campaign.
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Penguins' Connor Clifton: Chips in with helper
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Clifton notched an assist, two hits and a plus-3 rating in Tuesday's 5-1 win over the Red Wings.
Clifton avoided getting skunked in March, with the helper being his first point in 15 games. The 30-year-old defenseman is going to have a heavy competition on his hands for a third-pairing job, but it looks to be his over Jack St. Ivany for now. The Penguins also have Ryan Graves, Ilya Solovyov and Caleb Jones on their roster for defensive depth. Through 44 appearances this season, Clifton has just six points with 30 shots on net, 168 hits, 70 blocked shots, 42 PIM and a plus-3 rating.
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Penguins' Connor Clifton: Pots goal Thursday
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Clifton scored a goal on two shots, added two PIM and logged seven hits in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Devils.
Clifton snapped a four-game slump with the tally. The 30-year-old defenseman has been in a part-time role for much of the season, limiting him to four points, 20 shots on net, 114 hits, 42 blocked shots, 31 PIM and a plus-2 rating over 27 appearances. Clifton appears to be preferred over Ilya Solovyov and Ryan Graves while Jack St. Ivany (hand) is out until late March.
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Penguins' Connor Clifton: Rare goal in shootout loss
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Clifton scored a goal and added five hits in Saturday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Blue Jackets.
Clifton has played in four straight games after getting scratched for 11 of the previous 12 contests. For now, it looks like he has a third-pairing job locked down while Erik Karlsson (lower body) is out. The goal was Clifton's first point in 19 appearances, and he's added 15 shots on net, 80 hits, 31 blocked shots, 22 PIM and a minus-4 rating.
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Penguins' Connor Clifton: Becoming regular in press box
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Clifton was scratched for the ninth time in 10 games in Sunday's 5-4 overtime win over the Blue Jackets.
Jack St. Ivany has taken over a third-pairing role, leaving Clifton on the outside looking in frequently in recent weeks. With no points in 15 appearances, Clifton hasn't done anything to help his case for playing time. He's added 12 shots on net, 63 hits, 26 blocked shots and a minus-3 rating this season, and he may have to wait for an injury to open a spot in the lineup.
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Sabres' Connor Clifton: Slings shorthanded helper
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Clifton recorded a shorthanded assist, two hits and two blocked shots in Thursday's 5-4 win over the Flyers.
Clifton had two points over the final three games of the season. The 29-year-old defenseman was able to accumulate 16 points, including three shorthanded assists, over 73 appearances this season. He added 63 shots on net, 208 hits, 116 blocked shots, 45 PIM and a minus-6 rating. Clifton is under contract for 2025-26 and can be expected to fill a bottom-four role with the Sabres.
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Sabres' Connor Clifton: Finds twine Sunday
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Clifton scored a goal on two shots and added three hits in Sunday's 7-4 loss to the Lightning.
Clifton ended a five-game point drought with his first goal of the season. The defenseman had a run of five assists over six games from March 23 to April 1, but that's a fairly unprecedented stretch of success for him. Overall, he's at 15 points, 62 shots on net, 204 hits, 110 blocked shots, 45 PIM and a minus-4 rating over 71 appearances in 2024-25 while filling a bottom-four role.
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Sabres' Connor Clifton: Adds two assists in win
Rotowire
Clifton logged two assists, two shots on goal, four hits and six blocked shots in Sunday's 8-5 win over the Capitals.
Clifton has four helpers over his last five outings. The defenseman set up second-period tallies by Alex Tuch and Sam Lafferty in Sunday's contest. Clifton is up to 13 points (all assists), 55 shots on net, 184 hits, 98 blocked shots, 39 PIM and a minus-2 rating through 64 appearances this season, primarily in a bottom-four role.
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Sabres' Connor Clifton: Produces helper Sunday
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Clifton logged a shorthanded assist, two shots on goal, two hits and two PIM in Sunday's 5-3 win over the Jets.
Clifton helped out on an Alex Tuch tally in the third period, which ended up being the game-winner. The 29-year-old Clifton has just two assists over 12 outings in March as he continues to log bottom-four minutes. For the season, he's produced 10 assists, 49 shots on net, 170 hits, 88 blocked shots, 37 PIM and a minus-6 rating over 60 contests.
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Sabres' Connor Clifton: Pockets assist in loss
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Clifton notched an assist, two shots on goal and four hits in Tuesday's 6-2 loss to the Sharks.
Clifton has played in just five of eight games since returning from an illness in early February. He's part of a rotation of defensemen to fill a third-pairing role, and he appears to have the favor of head coach Lindy Ruff currently. With a Henri Jokiharju trade being a possibility before Friday's deadline, Clifton's playing time could become steady, though it won't make him a factor in fantasy. The 29-year-old blueliner has nine assists, 40 shots on net, 150 hits, 78 blocked shots and 31 PIM over 51 outings in a mediocre campaign so far.
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Sabres' Connor Clifton: Moves past illness
Rotowire
Clifton (illness) will return to the lineup Tuesday against the Blue Jackets, Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald reports.
Clifton will replace Mattias Samuelsson (lower body) in the lineup Tuesday and slot in on the second pairing next to Owen Power. Clifton has contributed eight helpers but has not found the back of the net across 46 appearances in 2024-25.
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Sabres' Connor Clifton: Won't play Sunday
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Clifton (illness) won't be in the lineup for Sunday's game against New Jersey, according to Heather Engel of NHL.com.
Clifton will miss his third straight game due to an illness after being a healthy scratch versus Edmonton on Jan. 25. However, he could be an option for Tuesday's matchup versus Columbus after participating in Saturday's practice. The 29-year-old defender has produced eight assists, 36 shots on goal, 69 blocked shots and 134 hits through 46 appearances this season. Once healthy, Clifton could replace Jacob Bryson in the lineup.
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Sabres' Connor Clifton: Not playing Friday
Rotowire
Clifton (illness) will not play versus Nashville on Friday, according to Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550.
Clifton sat out Tuesday against the Bruins with the illness and has lost a lot of weight, which will prevent him from playing against the Predators. Clifton has eight assists, 134 hits and 69 blocked shots over 46 contests this season.
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Sabres' Connor Clifton: Adds helper in win
Rotowire
Clifton notched an assist, four hits and two PIM in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Hurricanes.
Clifton ended a 10-game point drought when he set up the first goal of Ryan McLeod's hat trick just 43 seconds into the contest. The Sabres' defense is fully healthy for the first time recently, so Clifton will have to keep his performance up to avoid losing playing time to Dennis Gilbert or Jacob Bryson. Clifton has eight assists, 33 shots on net, 29 PIM, 123 hits, 65 blocked shots and a plus-5 rating through 42 appearances this season and likely won't score enough to help in fantasy.
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Sabres' Connor Clifton: Sends assist in loss
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Clifton posted an assist, two hits and four blocked shots in Friday's 6-3 loss to the Maple Leafs.
Clifton snapped his personal five-game slump when he helped out on a John-Jason Peterka goal in the second period. Clifton was scratched once recently (Dec. 15 versus Toronto), but he has generally held onto a third-pairing role. He has seven helpers, 25 shots on net, 93 hits, 52 blocked shots and 23 PIM over 31 outings. More scratches could be on the way as head coach Lindy Ruff tries to figure out the right combinations on the blue line to snap the Sabres' losing streak.
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Sabres' Connor Clifton: Stays warm with helper
Rotowire
Clifton logged an assist and nine hits in Thursday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Jets.
Clifton played a physical role and still had time to help out on a Dylan Cozens tally in the first period. This was Clifton's third helper over the last four games. The 29-year-old blueliner is at six assists, 19 shots on net, 19 PIM, 80 hits and 39 blocked shots through 25 outings overall, playing primarily on the Sabres' third pairing.
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Sabres' Connor Clifton: Chips in with assist
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Clifton logged an assist, four hits and two blocked shots in Friday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Canucks.
Clifton snapped an eight-game point drought with the helper. He's seen steady minutes on the third pairing this season, though his spot could be challenged once Mattias Samuelsson (lower body) is activated from injured reserve. Clifton has four helpers, 19 shots on net, 19 PIM, 65 hits and 37 blocked shots over 22 contests, so his appeal in fantasy is limited to formats with an emphasis on non-scoring production.
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Sabres' Connor Clifton: Pockets helper in win
Rotowire
Clifton notched an assist, three hits and two blocked shots in Thursday's 6-1 win over the Rangers.
Clifton appears to be a regular on the Sabres' blue line -- he's been scratched in just one of the team's first 14 games. Henri Jokiharju and Mattias Samuelsson have fallen out of favor with leaky defense, and considering the Sabres have allowed just two goals over two games with those two out of the lineup, Clifton shouldn't be facing an immediate challenge for playing time. Clifton has three assists, 11 shots on net, 35 hits, 22 blocked shots and a plus-1 rating over 13 contests in a third-pairing role.
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Sabres' Connor Clifton: Supplies assist Saturday
Rotowire
Clifton notched an assist and four hits in Saturday's 4-2 win over the Blackhawks.
Clifton has picked up two assists over seven contests this season. He's been a fixture on the Sabres' third pairing, doing enough to keep Jacob Bryson and Dennis Gilbert in the press box as healthy scratches. Clifton has added eight shots on net, 18 hits and five blocked shots. His highest point total in a regular season is 23 from the 2022-23 campaign, and he's also topped 200 hits in each of the last two years. He could be worthy of a roster spot in deep fantasy formats that reward the rough stuff.
