With Nashville Predators' Spencer Stastney injured, who replaces him? Here's two options

The Nashville Predators' best-of-7 series against the Vancouver Canucks has been as physical and violent as it gets.

Now the Predators are dealing with an injury as a result.

During Game 3 on Friday − which resulted in a 2-1 win for the Canucks and a 2-1 series lead − a hit by Dakota Joshua knocked Predators defenseman Spencer Stastney out of the game. Joshua was initially assessed a major penalty, but the officials downgraded the penalty to a minor for boarding.

Stastney returned to the game briefly, but left after the 10:40 mark of the second period and did not return.

The Predators announced Saturday that Stastney is out "week to week" with an upper body injury.

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Losing Stastney hurts the Predators' defense from a mobility standpoint. The 24-year-old is an excellent skater and handled pressure from the Vancouver forecheck well.

The series resumes with Game 4 on Sunday (4 p.m. CT, TBS, Bally Sports South) at Bridgestone Arena.

The question now is, who will replace Stastney on the blueline? There are two likely options.

Dante Fabbro

Dante Fabbro has been in and out of the lineup this season, but overall has played well. Mostly pairing with Roman Josi, he provides a mobile defensive presence with slight offensive upside. He's played 56 games this season, scoring three goals and 10 assists, averaging 16:21 minutes per game, including 1:17 minutes per game on the penalty kill.

As a right-handed defenseman, adding Fabbro would shift the blueline only slightly. Reuniting Fabbro with Josi would likely mean Ryan McDonagh joins Luke Schenn, while Jeremy Lauzon stays with Alex Carrier.

Also, Fabbro is from Coquitlam, British Columbia, not far from Vancouver. Not that he would need any additional motivation in the playoffs, but it doesn't hurt either.

Tyson Barrie

The saga of Tyson Barrie and the Predators this season has been a strange one. In December, he requested a trade, apparently upset about being healthy scratched. General manager Barry Trotz said he "didn't like the way (Barrie) reacted to it" and worked on trying to move the defenseman.

But over time, the conflict slowly faded. Barrie has played in 41 games this season, scoring one goal and 14 assists. At the trade deadline, Trotz said he tried to find a destination for Barrie, but couldn't make anything work, so he kept him. After all, defensive depth is something all playoff teams need.

So here the Predators are, with an injured defenseman needing a replacement. But could Barrie help?

Since the Predators' power play has been terrible in the series, he could certainly help there. But at even strength, Barrie struggles. Nashville does not need any holes in their defensive game against this dangerous Canucks team.

Coach Andrew Brunette's decision on who replaces Stasney will come down to this: does he want someone that can help the struggling power play? Or does he want to shore up the defense?

Does the team need more goals? If so, they go with Barrie. Or does it need more goal prevention? If that's the case, it's Fabbro.

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Who replaces injured Nashville Predators' defenseman Spencer Stastney?