CALGARY, Alberta -- Sam Poulin was asked during the Penguins' training camp how close he thought he was to playing in the NHL.
"I think I could play this year," he said. "But you never know what can happen. Sometimes it seems like it's pretty healthy, so there's not so many spots available."
What Poulin seemed to forget at the time is that this is the Pittsburgh Penguins, a team with perpetual bad injury luck. And after injuries to Teddy Blueger, Jake Guentzel and Jason Zucker early in the season, a spot became available for Poulin after just six games.