TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning have added goaltender Matt Tomkins on emergency recall from their American Hockey League affiliate the Syracuse Crunch, vice president and general manager Julien BriseBois announced today.
Tomkins, 29, made his NHL debut this season with the Lightning on October 15, making 33-of-37 saves in a loss at Ottawa. He earned his first career NHL victory in a 5-3 win at Montreal on November 7 after stopping 23 of the 26 shots he faced. In three starts this season with the Bolts, Tomkins is 1-2-0 with a 3.40 goals-against average and .889 save percentage.
The 6-foot-4, 191-pound Edmonton native has played in 29 games for the Crunch this season, posting a 15-12-2 record with a 2.53 GAA and .904 save percentage. He earned his first career AHL shutout in his last start after making all 30 stops in a 4-0 Syracuse victory over the visiting Providence Bruins March 30. Tomkins leads all Crunch goalies for games, wins and save percentage.
Tomkins was a seventh-round selection (199th overall) of the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2012 NHL Draft. The Lightning signed Tomkins to a two-year, two-way contract on May 10, 2023.
