Penguins forward Tommy Novak reunited with Evgeni Malkin

It wasn’t a thing of beauty.

But it was effective.

Forward Tommy Novak’s second goal of the season gave the Pittsburgh Penguins an opening lead on Sunday in what wound up being a 3-2 home loss to the Los Angeles Kings.

For what it lacked in cosmetic appeal, it offered plenty in cohesive acumen.

Taking a pass in the left circle of the offensive circle, Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin dished a brilliant backhand pass through the legs of Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson to the front of the crease.

That’s where Novak, all 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds of him, established position. And despite the futile efforts of Kings defenseman Drew Doughty (6-foot-1, 210 pounds) to evict him, Novak was able to tap in a forehand shot by goaltender Darcy Kuemper’s right skate.

Tommy Novak opens the scoring!#LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/OeQN6XI3vy

— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) November 9, 2025

“It’s just a great pass,” Novak said. “I just tried to fight for the net-front positioning. Right on my tape, a perfect pass.”

The Penguins tried to merge Novak and Malkin briefly last season after trading for Novak from the Nashville Predators on March 5.

How brief?

One game.

Actually, it was less than a whole game.

On March 9, Novak was placed on the left wing of Malkin’s line to open a 3-1 road win against the Minnesota Wild. That experiment was not completed, however, as Novak suffered a stress fracture in a leg after blocking a shot during the third period.

“I remember that game last year,” Novak quipped. “The game I got hurt in.”

The ailment wound up ending his 2024-25 season just as his tenure with the team began.

Entering this season, there was speculation that Novak would be reunited with Malkin but the Penguins wound up teaming Malkin with wingers Anthony Mantha and Justin Brazeau while Novak was stationed on the left wing of the third line with rookie Ben Kindel at center and a combination of Filip Hallander or Philip Tomasino on the right wing.

Once injuries began to pockmark the lineup, the Penguins placed Novak back on the second line with Malkin, starting in a 5-3 home win against the Washington Capitals on Thursday.

That union, along with Mantha at right wing, has been intact for the past three games.

“(Malkin is) a great passer,” Novak said. “It’s fun to play with him. He’s a big body and he skates really well and covers a lot of ice. Same with Mantha. They’re both big. They keep a lot of pucks alive. Just try to find him. He likes to pass the puck around and he’s good at it. Trying to make plays with him is the biggest thing.”

Novak’s defensive play is a significant thing as well.

“Something that he doesn’t get nearly credit for is his play away from the puck,” coach Dan Muse said. “His stick detail. He’s in the right spots. He disrupts plays all the time. Like, all the time.

“He’s got a really good stick. I don’t think he’s nearly appreciated enough. We appreciate him on the defensive side. He doesn’t get enough credit on the defensive side.”

Novak doesn’t see being defensive as being complicated.

“It’s just having a good stick, skating, getting back on a backcheck and having numbers back,” Novak said. “For me, just skating and my stick.”

Offensively, Novak’s stick has generated seven points (two goals, five assists) in 17 games.

“The production hasn’t been to a level I wish it was but I think it’s getting better,” Novak said. “Finding my feet again, coming back from this injury. Just being able to skate. Skate faster and harder for a full game. Obviously, the team has had a great start. I’m just starting to get better here.”

Novak will try to help the Penguins pull out of a small tailspin that has seen them lose four of their past five games (1-3-1) this upcoming week with a pair of neutral site games against his former team in Stockholm.

It will be the first time he’s played the Predators — the team he spent his first four NHL seasons with — since the trade.

“It will be fun to go against those guys,” Novak said. “I’ve got a lot of good friends on the team. To be honest, I haven’t thought about it a whole lot just being in the midst of a season with so many games coming back to back to back. It’ll be fun.

“I was a little disappointed we don’t get to go there (Nashville) this year. But it will be fun to be over there (Stockholm) with them.”

Presumably, continuing to generate offense with Malkin would be fun as well.

“You want to help the team win,” Novak said. “Whenever you can get in on a goal and contribute to a win, that’s a good feeling.”