Sam Lafferty News
Lafferty has three goals, five assists, 33 SOG, 13 PIMs and is a -7 plus/minus through 27 games but will be a game-time decision Thursday vs. St. Louis as he battles a non-Covid related illness.
Lafferty has missed Chicago's previous six games due to a back injury but will return Friday as he is feeling ready to go. The 27-year-old had three goals, four assists, 11 PIMs and 26 SOG in 19 games prior to his injury.
The Blackhawks acquired Lafferty from the Penguins for Alex Nylander in early-January and the 27-year-old had five goals with six assists (11 points) in 45 games with Chicago. Lafferty was set to become a UFA at the end of the season.
Lafferty was a fourth-round pick in 2014 and is in his third season with the Penguins. The 26-year-old winger has picked up just two assists in 10 games this season.
After spending four years at Brown University and one full season in the AHL, Lafferty spent most of 2020 with the Penguins, scoring six goals with seven assists (13 points) in 50 games. There were a lot of moving parts in Pittsburgh in the offseason but Lafferty should still have a spot in their bottom-6 come January.
Both Lafferty and Anthony Angello were returned to the AHL on Monday after the Penguins added a trio of forwards at the deadline. Lafferty has spent most of the season in Pittsburgh, scoring six goals with seven assists (13 points) in 46 games.
Lafferty will come out of the Penguins lineup on Saturday due to an illness, so Thomas Di Pauli will make his NHL debut in Montreal.
Lafferty was a fourth-round pick of the Penguins back in 2014 and he is expected to make his NHL debut on Tuesday because Evgeni Malkin and Nick Bjugstad are out with lower-body injuries. Lafferty was held pointless in his first AHL game of this season but had 49 points (13G / 46A) in 70 games last year.