Tomasino's First as a Penguin is the Game-Winner in Boston

After arriving in Pittsburgh earlier this week following a trade with Nashville, Phil Tomasino was happy for a fresh start, and wanted to be a sparkplug for his new team.

He was just that on Friday in Boston, with his first goal as a Penguin standing as the game-winner in a 2-1 victory over the Bruins at TD Garden, their second victory in a row after defeating Vancouver on Thanksgiving Eve.

“I thought tonight, our whole group did a heck of a job,” said Tomasino, appearing in his second game. “I mean, on that goal, I thought all three of us kind of worked together and got that puck back and it ended up going in the net. So yeah, it was a great goal for our team. Obviously a pretty big one, and a pretty big one for myself as well.”

The Penguins felt like the 23-year-old forward, a first-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, had a lot of potential. “Sometimes in a different environment, players can find their respective games and can thrive,” Head Coach Mike Sullivan said.

He had a long conversation with President of Hockey Operations and GM Kyle Dubas and some of the hockey operations staff about what Tomasino could bring, where he might fit, and how to best set him up for success. Since Tomasino is a skilled player with good offensive instincts, he’s been skating alongside Evgeni Malkin – who recorded the only assist on the tally.

“Oh my gosh, I think I’ve said it 10 times that I've looked up to this guy my whole life, so it's awesome,” Tomasino said with a laugh after the game. “I mean, I feel like he sees plays even before you do. He's obviously one of the most skilled guys ever, and one of the most skilled guys I've ever played with. So, it's really cool. He made a heck of a play, and it's nice to finally get one here.”

Tomasino’s goal came with 12:34 left to play in the game. The play started when he got the puck to the net with Drew O’Connor there. Sullivan said he flipped O’Connor and Michael Bunting to give that second line a spark.

The rebound popped out to the halfwall, and Tomasino managed to whack it over to Malkin at the goal line. He dished it back, and Tomasino’s sixth shot of the night made it past Jeremy Swayman.

“Tonight, definitely felt way more comfortable,” Tomasino said. “Just got to continue to keep getting better. I think there's still a lot of areas we can continue to improve, myself as well. So, just excited to continue to get better here day by day.”

The Penguins battled from there, staying on their toes for a fair amount of that final frame even though Boston pushed back. They got a power play a few minutes later, and created chances with Swayman pulled for the extra attacker. But Tristan Jarry and his teammates got the job done, with Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang each pulling out some stops of their own.

“We got a couple big saves, and we got some huge blocked shots from a number of guys there in the last couple of minutes of the game,” Sullivan said. “But that's the cost of winning. There's a price to pay to win, and I thought our guys worked really hard tonight... the last couple of games, we look so much more like the team that we want to be. Just being proactive, controlling momentum. I just think there's a lot to build on.”

Jarry stopped 32 of 33 shots in his second win since returning from a conditioning stint in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to find his game. He said being mentally strong would be key, and Jarry showed that tonight after the Bruins scored just 1:24 into play.

“It is tough letting those early goals in, and it is hard for the group coming back from whenever you’re down at any point of the game. It’s especially harder when it’s in the first five minutes,” Jarry said.

“But I think we did a great job tonight just responding. I thought we carried momentum a lot of the night. Just getting that goal at the end of the period I think really helped and gave our group a big boost. We were able to continue on from that momentum.”

That tally came in the final second of the middle frame from Rickard Rakell, as his line with Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust was a catalyst once again after leading the charge in that 5-4 win over Vancouver.

“It was momentum-changing going into the third period, and I thought everyone worked really hard to win this game. So, overall, tough battle, but huge win,” Rakell said.