PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It’s a contract year for Sam Lafferty. It could be a make-or-break year not only with the Penguins, but in the NHL. The Hollidaysburg native is trying to add to his game.
His first opportunity is Monday night as exhibition play opens.
“It’s huge,” Lafferty said of being in the lineup against Columbus. “It’s exciting getting to play in a real game against another team. Tonight is the first step. Just looking to contribute and play to my strengths and be good on the kill.”
Of course by kill, Lafferty wants to make himself more valuable to the team as a key member of the penalty killing unit.
“Want to take a step forward this year,” Lafferty said. “I think the big thing for me is to be a good penalty killer this year. I think that’s a void especially with Tans (Brandon Tanev) not here anymore. Someone has to fill his shoes, step up; bring the energy night-in and night-out.”
“We spent time in the off-season trying to help him in this area,” said Pens head coach Mike Sullivan. “Doing a better job with reads so he can be a trustworthy, reliable penalty killer for us. If he can add that dimension to his game and gain the trust of the coaching staff in that capacity. I think Sam is a guy that will really challenge for a consistent roster spot.”
The 6’1”, 195-pound righty shot played in 50 games his rookie year (2019-20) with six goals and seven assists and a plus five. Last year played in only 34, despite all of the injuries, didn’t score a goal with six assists and was a minus six.
“Sam has to understand how to play to his strengths as a player,” Sullivan said. “Most specifically we talked a lot about Tans and that type of a player. He has great size. He’s really strong. Is a tremendous skater. He brings a ton of speed. He has the ability to bring a physical dimension to our team. He can create a lot of opportunity by his energy, speed and force our opponents to do things under pressure.”
“If he does that consistently, I really think Sam can help our team.”
Lafferty will play in a mix Monday with veterans Brian Boyle, Evan Rodrigues, Kasperi Kapanen and Dominik Simon. He only gets a couple of chances to show his improvement.
