Black Made History. The Roster Still Has Two Holes.

Cooper Black's debut is now a footnote in the record books — the tallest goalie to play an NHL game, which is a fine thing to be. The actual situation around him is less tidy. Markstrom is out 10 to 14 days, Akira Schmid is the steadier hand in the crease, and Black is being asked to hold things together on a road trip. For a prospect, that is either a gift or a trial, and usually both.

The crease concern is the one people are watching. The other one is quieter but just as real: Nathan Bastian is listed as Florida's starting right wing, and he has produced nothing this season. Jack Devine, ranked second at the position, is the only one at RW who has contributed anything at all. That is a lopsided situation at a position that matters.

Marchand is still weeks away. The right wing is a ghost. The goaltending is now a prospect on a road trip. My read is that Florida can absorb one of those problems without much trouble. All three at once is a different conversation, and that conversation is happening right now whether the front office wants it to or not.