BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres followed one of their worst periods of the season with one of their best, leading to an unlikely comeback win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night.

The Sabres overcame a 3-0 deficit in the first period, scoring three goals in the second before Evander Kane's game-winner with 2:29 remaining in a 5-3 win.

Jake McCabe, Matt Moulson, Sam Reinhart and Jack Eichel also scored for Buffalo (28-29-12), which ended a four-game losing streak.

"We've shown it all year, we can come back in these games," McCabe said. "It shouldn't take a deficit of 3-0 to wake us up. We came out really flat, but we really came together as a group and found a way to win."

David Savard, Nick Foligno and Oilver Bjorkstrand scored for the Blue Jackets (43-18-6), who fell after a 4-3 win over the Sabres on Friday night. Joonas Korpisalo made 26 saves.

"It's just disappointing because that's a game that we've gotta find a way to win," Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno said. "Whatever's up against us, whether it's calls that are suspect or what, we've got to find a way to battle through."

The Sabres were an entirely different team once the second period began.

McCabe got the Sabres on the board 18 seconds into the period on a long shot from the left circle.

Moulson cut the lead to 3-2 on a power-play goal 5:43 into the second period. Moulson's second attempt on a rebound from close range went in for his 13th goal of the season.

Reinhart evened the score just before the end of the period. His shot through traffic made it 3-3 with 2.9 seconds left in the second.

Kane's game-winner came on the power play. Eichel fed Kane with a cross-ice pass and the power forward provided the finishing touch from the right circle for his 25th goal of the season.

"We played like we had nothing to lose and maybe we should start doing that more often," Kane said.

Robin Lehner made 24 saves after replacing Anders Nilsson to open the second period and had several key stops. Nilsson was replaced after allowing three goals on 12 shots.

Lehner made a big save on Cam Atkinson with 33.4 seconds remaining to preserve the victory.

"I thought their goalie ... when it was 3-2, we had a number of chances to make it 4-2. I thought that was the most important part of the game where Lehner made some really good saves," Columbus coach John Tortorella said. "Their goalie made some really good saves at some key times."

The Blue Jackets took control early with three first-period goals before the Sabres returned the favor.

Savard opened the scoring 7:09 into the game on a high wrist shot from the left circle.

Foligno made it 2-0 on a spectacular goal with six minutes left in the first period. Foligno picked up the puck at the blue line, skated around McCabe and beat Nilsson to the glove side for his 24th goal of the season.

Bjorkstrand made it 3-0 with 2:04 left in the first period after being left alone in front of the Sabres net. A quick passing sequence from Scott Hartnell and Sam Gagner found Bjorkstrand and he had an easy finish for his fifth goal of the season.

The Sabres' comeback came in a chippy second period that featured several scrums after the whistle. One scrum resulted in a close call for Atkinson, who received a large cut on his upper trapezius from Marcus Foligno's skate. Atkinson said he received 17 stitches before returning.

"I knew right away, I knew I was cut," Atkinson said. "I didn't see any blood, but I knew I was cut. I definitely have a couple of guardian angels looking after me."

Eichel added an empty-net goal with 3.5 seconds remaining.

NOTES: Blue Jackets D Ryan Murray suffered an upper-body injury early in the first period and did not return. ... RW Kyle Okposo (ribs) and D Dmitry Kulikov (upper body) were scratched for the Sabres. Okposo has missed the past five games for Buffalo. Kulikov has missed four games. ... D Kyle Quincey, RW Josh Anderson (lower body) and D Scott Harrington were scratched for the Blue Jackets. ... This was the second of three meetings between the teams this season. The third and final meeting takes place on March 28 in Columbus. ... This was the 25th game between the franchises.