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Los Angeles Kings forward Alexander Frolov , benched last week for the first of a home-and-home series with the Dallas Stars for indifferent play, responded to the message and scored two assists in his return. Still, with Frolov set to become an unrestricted free agent after this season, it is hard to imagine he has a long-term future in Los Angeles. Frolov led the Kings in goals last season with 32. … Michael Nylander , a free-agent bust with the Washington Capitals, agreed to a voluntary minor-league conditioning assignment with a view to getting him into game shape and possibly shipping him out to a team in Russia's Continental Hockey League. The Capitals placed Nylander with the Detroit Red Wings' AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids, Mich., rather than their team in Hershey, Pa. … After starting the NHL season with a sparkling 5-1 record, the Columbus Blue Jackets had their defensive structure slip in a disastrous run through Alberta, twice giving up six goals in back-to-back losses to the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. And, yes, that was much-maligned Oilers winger Dustin Penner continuing his hot start with five points against the Jackets, propelling him into a tie for fourth place in NHL scoring before yesterday. Astonishing. … Historically, the one thing about Pat Quinn -coached teams is they always score. Quinn has the Oilers – a team where no player scored more than 23 goals last season – tied with Calgary for the league lead in goals per game. Also astonishing. … If Quinn isn't an early choice for coach of the year, it's because Dave Tippett of the Phoenix Coyotes is topping the charts. The Coyotes are 6-2-0. They are the only team to defeat both the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins and last year's finalists, the Red Wings. … The San Jose Sharks have given up the first goal in seven consecutive games, one of the reasons for their early-season inconsistency. The other: goaltender Evgeni Nabokov has been downright awful. (Could the Sharks ponder a deal in which they would reacquire slumping Vesa Toskala from the Toronto Maple Leafs?) San Jose has salary-cap issues, but if Nabokov continues to struggle and the Sharks show little faith in backup Thomas Greiss , its unsettled goaltending situation could evolve into a full-blown controversy. … Ron Wilson got a new coaching job this week. Not Maple Leafs bench boss Ron Wilson , who's still trying to get his club out of its early-season slump. The other Ron Wilson (Toronto-born, who played in the NHL for 14 seasons, eight with the Winnipeg Jets) is now an assistant to the newly-appointed head coach Don Lever with the AHL's Chicago Wolves. Lever, who replaced Don Granato and was scheduled to make his Wolves debut on the same night as veteran defenceman Chris Chelios , had been working for the Chicago Blackhawks in their scouting department.

Eric Duhatschek