Jarvis Is Back. The Roster Around Him Is Still a Mess.

Seth Jarvis was activated from injured reserve Wednesday, ending a recovery from offseason shoulder surgery that had kept him out since before the season started. Good news, straightforwardly. He's a young winger Carolina counts on, and they need him.

The timing is useful because the roster he's returning to is thinner than the seven-game winning streak made it look. Jordan Staal is out one to two months with a torn calf muscle. Taylor Hall picked up an upper-body injury earlier this month and his status remains unclear. Bradly Nadeau was recalled to help fill the forward group. That's a lot of moving parts for a team that just won seven straight and might be tempted to feel settled.

The depth chart has real gaps. At right wing, Jackson Blake is carrying the position almost alone — Jordan Martinook is a distant second option there. On the blue line, K'Andre Miller is the top defenseman by playing time but hasn't been producing at a level you'd expect from a number-one guy. Alexander Nikishin remains on injured reserve with no timetable noted. Jarvis coming back helps the forward group breathe a little, but it doesn't fix the structural thinness underneath the top names.

He's one player. Worth having. The next few weeks will show whether the streak reflected how good this team is, or how well they papered over the holes.