The prospect of a healthy roster was great for the Los Angeles Kings but very short-lived.
Life with Viktor Arvidsson back in the lineup was great, the team went 4-0 with him, including a game he only played 17 seconds in against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
In those 17 seconds, Arvidsson suffered an undisclosed lower-body injury and has now been placed back on LTIR.
To make matters worse, defenseman Mikey Anderson left Thursday's game with an upper-body injury and is now considered week-to-week as well.
Despite both being given the same week-to-week timeline, only Arvidsson was placed on LTIR.
But, this gives the Kings a tough task moving forward. Replacing Arvidsson is the "easier" task. They've spent most of this season without him and know how to deal with it.
Losing Anderson is a completely different story.
Anderson is second on the team in average time on ice and is their go-to shutdown defenseman alongside Drew Doughty.
Anderson plays heavy minutes against the opposition's best players nightly and handles it well.
Now, they have to find a way to replace his impact.
Vladislav Gavrikov is the obvious replacement for him on the top pair, however, we've seen in the past that Gavrikov struggles in that role.
He struggled there in Columbus and in the few games he played there last season when Anderson missed five games down the stretch.
How to replace Anderson isn't the only issue, whether Gavrikov can handle the role or not, he's an obvious replacement.
It then becomes, how do you replace Gavrikov? Andreas Englund struggles to put together quality minutes on the third pair, so moving him up seems risky.
Jacob Moverare's name has been floated around by fans plenty, but the organization seems less bullish on his abilities.
That leaves the option they appear to be going with, moving a right shot over to the left, similar to what we saw last season with Sean Durzi and Sean Walker.
To my surprise, it appears that Brandt Clarke is the one swapping side.
Of the available players, Clarke is probably the last one I want on the left side.
In the Kings' system, when they get set up, the left defensemen steps up into the neutral zone to create the '3' in the 1-3-1, while the right defensemen goes back to retrieve pucks.
You want a player with Clarke's skill level to get more touches, making him an ideal candidate for the right side.
But, I also don't like the idea of him stepping up aggressively in the neutral zone. He doesn't have the tools for it right now.
He still struggles with the physicality of the NHL and lacks the quickness to get back if the 1-3-1 is beaten.
I'm sure Jim Hiller has a good reason for moving Clarke to the left, and he knows far more about the game than I do, but it's something to keep a close eye on.
Arvidsson to LTIR:
First, we have to talk about the idea going around of keeping Arvidsson on LTIR until the end of the season and reactivating him in the playoffs to open up cap for a trade.
Yes, that is a possibility, but it isn't that simple. Without knowing the extent of the injury, it's difficult to know if he'll be out that long.
Week-to-week never means one-to-two weeks, but it doesn't necessarily mean two months either.
If he's back by the mid-point or even late March, keeping him on LTIR until the playoffs might not be possible.
Maybe Arvidsson is willing to stay out while healthy, but maybe not. It is a possibility, but unless his injury will actually run until the end of the season, it isn't a guarantee.
The Kings can't put themselves over the cap if there's a chance Arvidsson returns.
So, assuming no trades are coming, what do the Kings do without him?
In the short term, it seems like Blake Lizotte will remain on the third line.
But, Alex Turcotte or Arthur Kaliyev should get a look there. Both performed well in limited minutes there on Thursday and add an extra element of skill onto that line.
I would expect Hiller to do what he's done in the last two games and rotate his lines based on game state.
Still, it would be nice to see one of the Kings' young skilled players get a chance on that line.