Philip Tomasino’s heart is full after the NHL’s Christmas break. So is his stomach.
For the young winger, one of the perks of joining the Penguins last month is he is now much closer to his family back in Mississauga, Ontario. That proximity permitted Tomasino to head home for Christmas for the first time in a few years.
Tomasino’s grandmother, who is apparently quite the cook, made a family feast.
“I definitely ate more than the previous years,” Tomasino said. “She made a lot of stuff. It was for 20 people. ... But I am not complaining. It was pretty damn good.”
The brief trip back home also gave Tomasino a chance to catch his breath and “just kind of reset” after what was a frenetic few weeks for him following his trade to Pittsburgh. The Penguins acquired him from the Nashville Predators on Nov. 25.
Tomasino was open to a change of scenery after he fell out of favor with Nashville, the team that took him in the first round of the 2019 draft. Here in Pittsburgh, he is receiving regular playing time and the Penguins are in the playoff mix, posting a 9-3-1 record since they sent a fourth-round pick to the Predators for Tomasino.
“I wouldn’t say that I’m the key. But obviously, when your team is winning, it’s a lot more fun to be a part of,” he said. “I’ve had a blast since I’ve been here and I just have to keep it going. I don’t think there are any regrets from my point of view.”
No, Tomasino alone has not keyed the Penguins’ turnaround. But he has helped.
In his second game, the 23-year-old buried the winning goal in the third period of a victory in Boston that in hindsight was a turning point for his new team. He had a four-game point streak early in his tenure. And Tomasino added another critical tally Monday against Philadelphia, making it four goals in his first dozen games.
His score against the Flyers was a “surreal moment” for Tomasino, whose favorite player as a child was Sidney Crosby. He also was a pretty big Evgeni Malkin fan.
It was Tomasino who whacked in the goal that gave Crosby his latest milestone.
“It was pretty cool that he tied Mario Lemieux’s record for the most assists [in team history],” he said. “Considering I scored that goal just made it even more special.”
The kid in him still can’t believe he gets to share the ice with Sid and Geno.
“Every day, seeing their habits and the true pros that they are, I’m trying to learn as much as I can from them,” he said. “They are two of the greatest players ever.”
Tomasino has mostly skated on one of Malkin’s wings since he joined the Penguins, as coach Mike Sullivan gave him an opportunity to show what he could do next to a Hall of Fame center. Tomasino finished the Flyers game on the third line. That’s where he was Friday as Pittsburgh practiced at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
Before signing off on the Tomasino trade, Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas checked in with Sullivan to make sure the coach would be willing give Tomasino “some runway and get the most out of him,” Dubas revealed Monday.
To his credit, Sullivan has given Tomasino an average ice time of 14:20 per night while he also tries to work with him on the fly on “some of the intangibles with his game,” such as winning puck battles in all zones and his wall play on breakouts.
“[It is about] some of those thankless jobs that don’t show up on the score sheet but add up to winning,” the coach said. “Those are the things we value and those are the areas of the game that we’re trying to help Philip grow and hold him to account.”
That said, Sullivan sounds excited about the offensive potential for Tomasino, who has made a number of highly skilled plays in his first 12 games with Pittsburgh.
“He’s a terrific kid. He’s fit in really well,” Sullivan said. “He has shown an ability to score goals. We think he’s a really talented player — and he’s got a lot of upside.”
So far, Tomasino has four goals, one assist and a minus-3 rating in black and gold.
“I think I’m getting better game by game,” he said. “There’s always stuff to improve on. But I’m trying to work on those things every day. Overall, it’s been good. I have loved my time here. And I’m excited to just be playing ever since I’ve been here.”
Tomasino said “everyone” in the Penguins organization, from support staff to the coaches and his teammates, were “so welcoming” and made him feel comfortable.
Winning games has been fun, too. There isn’t much of that right now in Nashville.
So while he wished he could have spent more time back home over Christmas, he was ready to get back to the rink Friday — and sweat off his grandma’s cooking.
“Obviously, we have a lot of games coming up here. So it was a pretty good time for a break,” he said after an hourlong skate. “But we’re excited to get back here.”
The Penguins will visit the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Saturday night.
Around the boards
Marcus Pettersson practiced with the team for the first time since he suffered his lower-body injury Dec. 14. He was not cleared for contact. ... The only absence at Friday’s practice was Owen Pickering, who remains out with a concussion. ... Drew O’Connor, who hasn’t scored since Oct. 18, has been bumped up to Malkin’s line.
First Published: December 27, 2024, 8:46 p.m.
Updated: December 28, 2024, 3:24 a.m.