from Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News,

It was a late night in the race for the bottom of the NHL's standings as the Sabres joined the Arizona Coyotes and Edmonton Oilers in escaping the Eastern Time Zone.

The biggest takeaway from Saturday: With 10 games left for the three contenders, this looks like a two-team "race" (yes, the quotes are intentional) between Darcy Regier's old team and the former Sabres GM's new team.

The Edmonton Oilers rallied from a 3-1 deficit and pulled out a 5-4 overtime win over Philadelphia in Saturday's final game, pushing six points ahead of the last-place Sabres. Buffalo and Arizona, meanwhile, both lost in regulation as they careen toward Thursday's bizarre showdown in First Niagara Center.

In today's Inside the NHL column, John Vogl writes that the upcoming pair of games against the Coyotes "might have as much impact as drafting Gilbert Perreault, trading for Dominik Hasek and letting Chris Drury and Daniel Briere walk away."

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