Ron Hextall admits that he was worried about his team a few weeks ago.
Oh, not about the players on his roster -- it's clear he's pretty pleased with the group that's been assembled -- but about how many of them actually would be available for the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Understandably so.
The Penguins, after all, would end up losing 273 man-games to injury and illness during the regular season, and their medical facilities were attracting near-capacity crowds at times during the stretch drive.
"My biggest concern, maybe, a couple of weeks ago was health," Hextall said Friday. "Where is Mike Matheson going to be? Where is (Brandon Tanev) going to be? We've gotten some answers, so I feel pretty comfortable with our group right now."
Whether the Penguins will be completely healthy for the opener of their Round 1 playoff-series against the Islanders Sunday at 12:08 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena is unclear -- backup goalie Casey DeSmith left practice Friday because of an unspecified lower-body injury -- but they figure to have as close to Mike Sullivan's lineup of choice in uniform as they have at any point this season.
"I feel pretty comfortable with our group right now," Hextall said. "Quite frankly, Sunday we're going to have guys who are not dressed who I feel can help us win, so I think we're in a good spot. Hopefully, we stay healthy and our guys continue to perform the way they have."
Although it's not realistic to expect any team (let alone these Penguins) to avoid injuries if it makes more than a cursory appearance in the postseason, the Penguins have proven adept at dealing with adversity.
Hey, they have an East Division championship to show for it.
"I really like our team," Hextall said. "The resiliency of this group has been absolutely terrific. We lose (Evgeni Malkin) and then we lose Teddy (Blueger), so essentially, you lose two guys in your middle and, 'OK, how are we going to respond to this?' Jared (McCann) went in the middle and played well. Guys have stepped up every night. This group has just fought through a lot of obstacles along the way. It's been impressive and, really, that's what precipitated the (Jeff) Carter deal. We really liked the team. We liked the way they were playing. We liked the chemistry. We felt like we'd like to add to our depth."
Carter, the only player Hextall has acquired via a trade during his brief tenure as general manager, has done more than simply enhance the Penguins' depth.
He has provided a strong two-way presence in the middle of their No. 3 line, where he is flanked by McCann and Frederick Gaudreau. Along the way, he has established balance throughout their entire group of forwards.
Carter put up nine goals and two assists in 14 games after being acquired from Los Angeles. Five of those goals came in the final two games of the regular season, including his first career four-goal outburst in the penultimate one.
The Penguins obviously didn't anticipate that kind of offensive rampage from Carter, but Hextall said that his overall performance has been what they believed he was capable of contributing, even at age 36. Hextall had been assistant GM in Los Angeles during some of Carter time's there, so he had a pretty good feel for what Carter could bring.
Nonetheless, the Penguins invested considerable time in scouting him before making the trade.
"We had our eye on him for quite a while before the deadline," Hextall said. "We knew he was playing good hockey. Did I know he was going to score four goals in a game? Of course not. He's certainly played up to expectations. We knew what we were getting in Jeff, in terms of he could play on both special teams, he's a right shot for the penalty-kill and also taking draws, and he's a good two-way player. We knew we were getting a player who was going to help us and help our depth. And obviously, he's played very well since he's been here."
Part of the reason for that is that he meshed so quickly with McCann, something of which the Penguins could not be certain when contemplated bringing Carter in.
"The thing that is really hard to predict (before the trade) is, 'Will he have chemistry with a certain forward?' " Hextall said. "Sometimes, those things take a while to figure out. That was the biggest danger. But when Jeff came in, he and Jared had instant chemistry. Typically, we build our lines in twos and (Sullivan) found that one right away."
Which is only part of the reason Hextall believes his team has such a healthy outlook as it prepares to enter the playoffs.