Shabanov Out as Spurgeon Settles Back In

Jared Spurgeon's return to the lineup is good news, and I noted it here Wednesday. But Thursday brought a wrinkle: Maxim Shabanov is out with an upper-body injury, head coach John Hynes having flagged it as a game-time decision before ruling him out. Shabanov sits atop the right wing depth chart, so his absence is felt immediately.

The defensive picture is at least more settled than it was ten days ago. Spurgeon is back, Carson Lambos is up from the AHL, and Quinn Hughes anchors the group. The concern that's been there all month remains, though — there's a significant drop-off behind Hughes, and the blue line doesn't have a lot of margin for disruption.

On the forward side, losing Shabanov for any stretch puts more weight on Danila Yurov and Ryan Hartman to fill minutes on the right. Nico Sturm is still on injured reserve from the head injury he suffered against Vegas earlier this month, so the forward group is already operating a little thin. One night at a time, but the list of available bodies keeps shifting.