by Mike Haim

There are some people who look out of place when they’re doing something a little bit different.

Take Don Lever, for instance. His playing career, spanning 1,020 NHL games, was productive. But it was his coaching career, which started in Buffalo as an assistant in the 1987-88 season, which had seen him become a fixture behind benches in the American and National Hockey Leagues for over 20 years.

So imagine the incongruity of seeing him in the HSBC Arena press box at the beginning of the NHL season, scouting for the Chicago Blackhawks.

It was an uncharacteristic position for someone who had led the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs for four seasons, including a Calder Cup championship in 2007. Lever’s time in the Steel City only ended last March because he was promoted by the Montreal Canadiens to assist Bob Gainey after Les Habitants canned coach Guy Carbonneau.

That move, about a month before the 2008-09 schedule concluded, appeared to place Lever in good position to take over the Canadiens’ coaching position. But as fast as you could say, “Bilingual? Non! Jacques Martin? Oui!” Lever was on the street, looking for employment.

It turns out Lever is back on familiar terrain, as last week he was named head coach of the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. He replaced Don Granato after the Atlanta Thrashers’ affiliate lost five of its first six games.

In a statement, Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman said, “We appreciate the time Don spent with us and are happy that he is back in the coaching ranks and is able to do so with a successful organization like the Wolves.”

The Wolves have won two straight games (through Wednesday) after Lever lost his debut last Friday, a 1-0 shootout decision against the Manitoba Moose.

Lever’s bench return, however, played second fiddle to the on-ice return of 47-year old Chris Chelios, signed previously by Chicago. The presence of the veteran defenseman might even make Lever’s job a little easier.

Hopefully it will improve his chances of getting that elusive NHL head coaching job sometime soon.

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If you like to see defensemen making offensive contributions, you would have loved the game played last Thursday between the Nashville Predators and Ottawa Senators.

Nashville won 6-5 on an overtime goal by blueliner Shea Weber, which made perfect sense because it was the eighth goal of the contest scored by a defenseman, setting a new NHL single-game record.

Weber and his teammate Ryan Suter each scored twice, while the Predators’ Cody Franson notched the first goal of his NHL career. The Senators got goals from Chris Campoli, Anton Volchenkov, and Chris Phillips.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the former record for goals by defensemen in a game was seven, set by Washington and the New York Rangers in December 1992.

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Big things were expected from the San Jose Sharks, but their 7-4-1 record (entering Wednesday night’s game against Los Angeles) could be even better if the Sharks figured out how to get an early lead.

The Sharks, between their third and tenth games of the young season, allowed the game’s first goal in every game – an eight-game streak - yet battled to a 4-3-1 record in those contests.

San Jose’s streak isn’t even the longest in the league this year. In their nine games, the Toronto Maple Leafs so far haven’t drawn first blood on the scoreboard. Their next chance comes Friday night at HSBC Arena when they face the Sabres.