Forward Philip Tomasino gets winning goal as Penguins beat Bruins
Philip Tomasino has been a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins for less than a week after being acquired via a trade with the Nashville Predators on Monday.
So, he’s still getting acclimated to his new surroundings.
But he is under no misconceptions about one aspect of his new gig.
Skating on a line with Evgeni Malkin as his center is a tremendous opportunity.
That assignment bore strong results Friday as Tomasino scored his first goal of the season and helped propel the Penguins to one of their most impressive victories of the season, a 2-1 road win against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.
In addition to being the game-winner, it was Tomasino’s first goal at the NHL level in roughly 10 months (Jan. 31) and it came in his second game with the Penguins.
Skating as Malkin’s primary right winger since arriving, Tomasino led the Penguins with six shots on seven attempts Friday.
In his Penguins debut during a 5-4 home win against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday, Tomasino recorded one shot on four attempts.
“Just exciting,” Tomasino said of skating with Malkin following practice in Cranberry on Thursday. “He’s obviously a hall of famer, (heck) of a player. Just really cool to (play together on Wednesday).
“Hopefully, we can continue to build here in the coming games.”
In what was his best game of the season at the NHL level by any measure, Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry made 31 saves on 32 shots and boosted his record to 3-3-1.
It marked the first time in 2024-25 that Jarry had given up fewer than three goals in an NHL contest.
“We held momentum most of the game,” Jarry said to reporters in Boston via audio provided by the team’s media relations staff. “That’s what really helped us down the stretch.”
The second shot Jarry faced on Friday resulted in the hosts’ lone goal by forward Charlie Coyle, his fifth goal of the season.
After Penguins rookie defenseman Jack St. Ivany fanned on a pass attempt at the right point of Boston’s zone, Bruins forward Tyler Johnson claimed possession and initiated transition. Gaining the Penguins’ blue line at the center point, Johnson offloaded the puck to the left wing for linemate Trent Frederic. As Johnson drove to the net and drew in Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea, Frederic slipped a pass to the far circle for Coyle. Blessed with an acre of ice and a calendar of time, Coyle snapped a wrister by Jarry’s glove on the near side. Frederic and Johnson had assists.
Boston goal!
Scored by Charlie Coyle with 18:36 remaining in the 1st period.
Assisted by Trent Frederic and Tyler Johnson.
Boston: 1
Pittsburgh: 0#PITvsBOS #NHLBruins #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/tYdrftjukW— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) November 29, 2024
Penguins forward Rickard Rakell tied the game at the last second – literally – of the second period when he scored his team-leading ninth goal at the 19:59 mark.
Following a faceoff win by Penguins forward Sidney Crosby in the right circle of the Boston zone, the puck slid toward the center point where Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson took a swing at a wild one-timer that missed the cage and clunked off the end boards. Crosby collected the rebound, scurried behind the net and slid a backhand pass from the left post to the slot where Rakell jabbed a quick wrister over the right leg of prone goaltender Jeremy Swayman. It marked Rakell’s second consecutive game with a goal. Crosby and Karlsson claimed assists.
Pittsburgh goal!
Scored by Rickard Rakell with 00:01 remaining in the 2nd period.
Assisted by Sidney Crosby and Erik Karlsson.
Boston: 1
Pittsburgh: 1#PITvsBOS #NHLBruins #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/a54Fhu4TIb— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) November 30, 2024
Tomasino’s goal came at 7:26 of the third period.
Swiping the puck off Boston’s left half-wall from Bruins forward Morgan Geekie, Tomasino backhanded a pass toward the near corner for Malkin. Holding the puck for a moment, Malkin returned it to Tomasino who sashayed his way toward the crease and fired a wrister from the left hashmarks past Swayman’s left skate on the far side. The only assist went to Malkin.
Pittsburgh goal!
Scored by Philip Tomasino with 12:34 remaining in the 3rd period.
Assisted by Evgeni Malkin.
Boston: 1
Pittsburgh: 2#PITvsBOS #NHLBruins #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/S7vgyhCzGn— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) November 30, 2024
“I’ve looked up to this guy my whole life,” Tomasino said regarding Malkin to media in Boston. “It’s awesome.”
Notes:
• Tomasino became the 573rd player to score a regular season goal for the Penguins.
• Tomasino’s last NHL goal came with the Predators in a 4-2 home loss to the Los Angeles Kings.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) November 30, 2024
At 23 years and 124 days, Tomasino is the youngest person to score a goal for the Penguins this season. Forward Valtteri Puustinen previously held that distinction. He was 25 years and 147 days old when he scored during a 5-3 home loss to the Minnesota Wild on Oct. 29.
• Penguins rookie defenseman Owen Pickering was scratched for the second consecutive game due to an unspecified illness. Penguins coach Mike Sullivan told reporters in Boston that Pickering did not travel with the team.
• Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves and forward Jesse Puljujarvi were healthy scratches. Graves — in the second year of a six-year contract with a salary cap hit of $4.5 million — has not dressed for five of the past six games.
• In 60 career games against the Bruins, Crosby has 74 points (19 goals, 55 assists).
• In 49 career games against the Bruins, Malkin has 50 points (20 goals, 30 assists).
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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