With the recent trade of forward Drew O’Connor to the Vancouver Canucks, the Pittsburgh Penguins are down one regular middle-six forward.
But there may be one player ready for the challenge to step up in a big way.
Forward Philip Tomasino – who came to the Penguins from the Nashville Predators via trade on Nov. 25 – knows his game hasn’t been at the level it was when he first arrived on the scene. He did score a goal in Saturday’s 3-0 win over his former team, but he had been a healthy scratch in their 3-2 win against the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday.
Although he didn’t want to discuss the scratch too much, he knows exactly what he needs to work on in order to remain a mainstay in the Penguins’ lineup. He is also starting to feel a bit more settled into the Penguins’ system.
“It’s been good,” Tomasino said. “I think I’ve adjusted pretty well. Like I’ve said from the beginning, I think there’s still areas of my game that I want to continue to work on, but just trying to focus day-by-day and get better every game.”
As for some of those areas of his game that he wants to round out?
“[Head coach Mike Sullivan] has kind of touched on it in interviews, but just little details of the game,” he said. “Simple things like that. Just having lots of meetings with our coaches, and doing the little things right. I think if I can continue to work on that, I’ll definitely elevate my game to the next level.”
It does seem like Tomasino is beginning to find the level he was at when he first came over to Pittsburgh. He has been harder on pucks, he’s making good decisions with the puck, and he is beginning to find production again.
After registering three goals and four points in his first five games in Pittsburgh, he has just three goals and seven points in 20 games since. However, two of those goals and four of those points have come in the last 7 games, so things are starting to look up.
He knows there is a path in front of him and that it is up to him to keep working with the coaching staff to ensure he is getting the best out of his game.
“They’ve been pretty honest with me about what they expect from me, so that’s all you can ask for,” Tomasino said. “Just trying to work on everything that we’ve discussed, especially in the last month or so.”
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