You have to give Dean Lombardi credit, he's not sitting still.

	CHIRPIN'
	"When I went to the bench, all the Columbus guys were saying, 'Nice dump-in.' " -- Colorado Avalanche forward Dean McAmmond after he shot wide of the net on a penalty shot against the Blue Jackets on Thursday.
	THE NUMBER
	75% That's how many of the league's players are "probably overpaid," according to Detroit winger Brett Hull, who shared his top 10 ways to change the game with The Hockey News. "But you know what?" he added. "We're not paying ourselves … there's people giving it to us."
	WHO'S HOT
	Taking advantage of an injury to goaltending partner Manny Fernandez, Minnesota's Dwayne Roloson is staking his case for being No. 1 with the Wild. Roloson has a 1.16 GAA and a .957 save percentage in his last six games. What's more, the Wild have scored just 11 goals in their past six games and still have a 4-2-0 record in that span.
	WHO'S NOT
	The Canucks are in a mini-slump with a 3-4-0 in their past seven games, this coming on the heels of a 7-2-0 run. One of the reasons? Trevor Linden has no points and is a minus-7 during the span.
	THIS WEEK'S SIGN ...
	... not much has changed in the world of hockey: Blackhawks management (namely coach Brian Sutter) was upset about the possibility that the Columbus Blue Jackets might have leaked word that three Blackhawks players were in a dust-up at a strip club. Doesn't that smack of Team USA blaming the media for its problems at the Nagano Olympics? C'mon guys, when you get in a situation like that, you're not in a great position to cast any aspersions.

The San Jose Sharks general manager, who helped contribute to his team's slow start this season when he was unable to sign Evgeni Nabokov and Brad Stuart signed to new contracts, pulled off a heck of a deal Thursday.

In trading away struggling forward Niklas Sundstrom and slow-developing defenseman Jeff Jillson for powerful defenseman Kyle McLaren, Lombardi gave his team a needed boost on the blue line and an even more important signal that he has not given up on this season.

McLaren is 25 years old, 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds. He has been injury prone, but he also has 417 games of NHL experience and was good for 23 minutes a game in his career with the Bruins. Now, he also got fed up with management and decided he needed to be on a new team despite the fact Boston had the best record in the Eastern Conference last season, but those are things that can fade away when you get a new start and a new contract (something Lombardi still needs to work out).

The bottom line, on the ice, is that San Jose (when healthy) could have a defense that includes McLaren, Stuart, Dan McGillis and Mike Rathje -- and that's something to build on.

"What Kyle brings is just hard to find," Lombardi said. "When you bring physical play and good numbers like he does, when you find a player who can play in your top four and can play with that Derian Hatcher, Adam Foote edge, you get him."

With veteran Bryan Marchment also a physical force, the Sharks have become one of the more scary teams to play on any given night. The key is whether or not they become one of the smarter teams.

It will take both might and mettle to work their way out of their current hole, and the acquisition of McLaren might have come too late this season. But, you can't say that Lombardi isn't doing everything in his power to try to fix things. What's more, he seems to be picking his spots. He could have given up a lot more for McLaren had he tried to force the deal earlier.

The question now is: Does he have more tricks up his sleeve?

The third-period Blues
The Blues might struggle to get out of the gate, but they sure know how to finish with a push. St. Louis has allowed the first goal in 27 of its 49 games, but it has a 15-7-3-2 record when allowing the opposition to score first.

Part of the reason for that is the Blues outscore opponents 72-40 in the third period -- best in the NHL.

The Blues showed that prowess again Thursday as they overcame a 3-0 deficit against Chicago and walked away with a 3-3 tie. And while the fans seem to love the drama, coach Joel Quenneville was a little less enthusiastic.

"It's surprising the amount of times we've been able to find a way to get back into it," Quenneville said. "It's a pretty amazing stat. I don't recommend it."

Damage control

	Fleury

While the Blackhawks organization isn't going to publicly chastise winger Theo Fleury for his role in a dust-up at an Ohio strip club, they are quietly dealing with the problem and also quietly trying to control future problems.

The team announced Thursday that instead of spending three days in Montreal during an extended road trip next week, they will return to Chicago, practice there and then fly out for a game in Boston. The change has much to do with Fleury, who coach Brian Sutter said is first and foremost in his mind.

"I worry every second about him," Sutter told the Arlington Heights Daily Herald. "That's the way it's going to be the rest of his life. Worry is concern, it's caring. I worry about him in a much different way than other people."

Sutter said he's also concerned about the two unidentified teammates who accompanied Fleury, who is in the aftercare stage of the NHL's substance-abuse program, on the late night excursion.

"On their behalf, the common sense element has got to enter into it, and I will not let any one of them off the hook in that situation," Sutter said. "They will be made accountable."

Depth chart

	Naslund