Penguins notebook: Can Sam Lafferty replace Brandon Tanev in the lineup?

There’s only one Brandon Tanev. And the Pittsburgh Penguins have him.

They just don’t have him in the lineup at the moment as the auger drill bit of a forechecking forward is expected to be sidelined a handful of weeks because of an undisclosed injury.

There is really no true way the Penguins can replace Tanev’s blend of energy, abrasiveness and speed.

But they seem to believe they have a reasonable facsimile of Tanev in Sam Lafferty.

While hits is an inherently flawed statistic because of the inconsistent standard for scorekeepers in every NHL building, Tanev leads the Penguins with 139.

Second? (A distant second, to be sure.)

Sam Lafferty at 75.

“I liken him a lot to (Tanev’s) game,” coach Mike Sullivan said via video conference. “They have similar attributes. He can really skate, he’s got a physical dimension to his game. He has the ability to make some plays. his north-south game, just his activity on the forecheck, his physical presence and just using his size and his strength to help us create is when Sam is at his very best.”

“He’s had moments during the course of the season where he’s played to his strengths, and he’s really made an impact on the game. We think he’s capable of getting to another level just through his consistency and that’s something that Sam and I have talked about.”

Lafferty has played in 29 of the Penguins’ 40 games this season, having been a healthy scratch for seven games and missing an additional four contests while being assigned to the taxi squad.

“Sam has the potential to be a real effective player for us,” Sullivan said. “He’s had moments during the course of this season where he’s been a real impact player and has a real positive influence on the game. I think he could do it more consistently. Sam and I have had a number of discussions just about trying to clarify what the expectations are from the coaching staff and how he needs to play in order to help us have success out there.

Blueger still out

Penguins forward Teddy Blueger missed Thursday’s road game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden because of an undisclosed injury.

Blueger, who has been skating in full capacity during practices as of late, was sidelined for the 12th consecutive game. Sullivan indicated Blueger “continues to progress with the activity on the ice, but he has not been cleared to play at this point.”

Currently on injured reserve, Blueger was initially injured during a 4-1 home win against the Boston Bruins at PPG Paints Arena on March 15.

In 28 games this season, Blueger has 15 points (four goals, 11 assists).

Marino returns

Defenseman John Marino was in the lineup Thursday after departing Tuesday’s 8-4 road loss to the Rangers prematurely. He opened the contest on the third defensive pairing with regular partner Marcus Pettersson.

Marino did not play the final 11 minutes, 36 seconds in Tuesday’s contest after he was tripped and fell on his face. Prior to Thursday, Marino had appeared in 35 games this season and had seven points (two goals, five assists).

Angello injured

Sullivan revealed rookie forward Anthony Angello is in Pittsburgh being treated for an undisclosed injury.

The team assigned Angello to the taxi squad Sunday, and he did not play in Tuesday’s game. That broke up a stretch of 15 consecutive games of being in the lineup for Angello, one of the organization’s biggest players at 6-foot-5, 210 pounds.

In 19 games this season, Angello has four points (two goals, two assists).