There was, Sam Lafferty said, no particular moment when he realized that he is not out of place in the NHL.
Perhaps that's because there never has been a time since he arrived last week -- not for a shift, not even for a second -- when Lafferty looked as if he did not belong.
It's pretty easy to get that impression when a guy puts up five points in his first four games. Especially one who's worked primarily on a fourth line and plays a responsible two-way game.
And Lafferty's work during the embryonic stages of his NHL career hasn't gone unnoticed.
It's possible, though far from certain, that he will get a bump up the depth chart and a move back to his customary position when Colorado visits PPG Paints Arena Wednesday at 7:08 p.m.
That's because Jared McCann, who has been playing between Dominik Kahun and Patric Hornqvist on the second line, missed practice Tuesday with an unspecified lower-body injury and was described as "day-to-day" by Mike Sullivan.
McCann's status for the Avalanche game is uncertain.
"Obviously, he didn't skate today," Sullivan said. "Tomorrow's a new day. We'll take each day as it comes, and make decisions accordingly."
If McCann can't play, the Penguins figure to recall a forward from their farm team in Wilkes-Barre, but it won't necessarily be a center who could be plugged directly into his spot on the No. 2 line.
Lafferty filled that role during practice Tuesday and would be a candidate to stay there against the Avalanche, Sullivan said.
"Based on his performance for the past week or so, I think he's shown everybody his ability to play at this level," Sullivan said. "He can really skate. He's got a good 200-foot game, so that's a possibility. I'm not saying we're going to go that route, but that's certainly an option."
Lafferty, who had a strong showing during training camp, was promoted from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after a series of injuries shredded the Penguins' contingent of forwards.
He is on emergency recall because the Penguins had fewer than 12 healthy forwards on their major-league roster when he was brought up. That means Lafferty must be sent back to Wilkes-Barre once Sullivan has at least a dozen other healthy forwards with which to build a lineup.
Lafferty, though, would like to convince management that such a move should be nothing more than a technicality, a mandated transaction that would be followed immediately by a return to the parent club.
"I love it here," Lafferty said. "I'd love to stay. But I still try to take it one game at a time, and just play my best every game."
He seems to raise the bar on that standard a bit every time he appears in a game. If it gets much higher, management is going to have a hard time justifying any decision to put Lafferty in the American Hockey League, even if other personnel factors make that inevitable.
While Lafferty acknowledged that the game here is different from the one he was used to in Wilkes-Barre -- "It's a lot faster," he said. "Guys are just better." -- his transition to the NHL has looked all but seamless.
"More experience probably is the biggest thing," he said. "More reps. You get more comfortable."
Which doesn't mean he's gotten complacent. In some ways, Lafferty seems to be at least as impressed by much of what he sees during games at this level as others are by what they've witnessed from him.
"It's so cool, watching a lot of the plays that are made out there," he said. "Especially some of the guys we have on our team."
Including some of the guys who look like they've been around for a long time. Even if they've only been here for a week.
Also Tuesday:
• Colorado's Cale Makar will tie an NHL record for the longest regular-season points streak at the start of his career by a defenseman if he gets a goal or assist against the Penguins. He has six assists in five games and is one of five defensemen to record a point in each of his first five NHL games. That list includes former Penguins defenseman Larry Murphy, who did it in 1980-81 with Los Angeles. Marek Zidlicky set the record of six games with Nashville in 2003. Sullivan described Makar as "a good, solid, two-way defenseman." He added that Makar "is mobile, he's big. ... Whenever you add a player of that dynamic to your blue line, it certainly makes you a lot more difficult to play against."
• The Avalanche will enter Wednesday's game with a 5-0 record, just the fourth time in Quebec/Colorado franchise history it has started a season with five victories. The team's best-ever start is 7-0 in 1985-86.
• Based on Tuesday's practice, Erik Gudbranson seems unlikely to play against Colorado. Nonetheless, Sullivan offered a fairly effusive assessment of his performance and value to the team: "He's a fairly mobile guy. He's strong. He's got an edge to his game. He brings a physical presence to our blue line. He's good in the battle areas. He's really good in front of our net." Gudbranson, who normally plays the right side, shifted to the left in Winnipeg Sunday, but Sullivan said Gudbranson told him "he didn't mind playing the left side" and that he "has a comfort level there."
• Lafferty isn't the only player promoted from Wilkes-Barre who has contributed to the Penguins' three-game winning streak. Joseph Blandisi and Adam Johnson have played well, too, since being summoned because of the spate of injuries among Penguins forwards. "That's pretty impressive, coming into their first games and producing like they are," defenseman Justin Schultz said. "They're the hardest workers. They're skilled, they're fast, they're hungry, and they're playing really well. I hope it continues."
• With only 11 forwards participating in practice, defenseman Juuso Riikola filled in on the fourth line. The Penguins used the following personnel combinations:
Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Dominik Simon
Dominik Kahun-Sam Lafferty-Patric Hornqvist
Zach Aston-Reese-Teddy Blueger-Brandon Tanev
Adam Johnson-Joseph Blandisi-Juuso Riikola
Brian Dumoulin-Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson-Justin Schultz
Jack Johnson-John Marino
Chad Ruhwedel-Erik Gudbranson
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