Penguins

Penguins lose shootout to Panthers, forward Philip Tomasino to injury

Seth Rorabaugh
Seth Rorabaugh
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Florida goaltender Spencer Knight stops a shot by Penguins center Blake Lizotte during the first period Friday.
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Panthers center Sam Reinhart watches as a shot by by defenseman Gustav Forsling gets past Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry during the second period Friday.
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Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt battles Penguins left wing Drew O’Connor for the puck during the first period Friday.
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Penguins defensemen Erik Karlsson (left) and Owen Pickering (right) defend Florida center Anton Lundell during the first period Friday.
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Officials check Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves after he was hit in the eye with a stick during the first period against the Panthers on Friday.
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Panthers goaltender Spencer Knight stops a shot by Penguins center Philip Tomasino during the first period Friday.
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Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) celebrates a goal during the second period against the Panthers on Friday.
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Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov defends a shot by Penguins right wing Bryan Rust during the second period Friday.
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Penguins right wing Rickard Rakell (67) defends Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov during the second period Friday.

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Penguins forward Philip Tomasino suffered an undisclosed injury during a 3-2 shootout loss to the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. on Friday.

He did not record a shift beyond the 4-minute, 56-second mark of the third period. Other than the team acknowledging his premature departure from the contest via one of its social media accounts, there was no substantive word on Tomasino’s status.

Since being acquired in a trade with the Nashville Predators on Nov. 25, Tomasino has appeared in 16 games for the Penguins and has recorded seven points (four goals, three assists). He is tied with forward Sidney Crosby for the second most game-winning goals on the team with three.

Shootout goals by forwards Sam Reinhart and Anton Lundell were the difference in Friday’s game.

The Penguins scored both of their regulation goals during power-play sequences. Their second goal came late in regulation and forced overtime.

“We played really well,” Penguins forward Bryan Rust said to reporters in Sunrise via audio provided by the team’s media relations staff. “We had a lot of chances.”

Following an offense-free first period, the Panthers took a lead 36 seconds into the second frame via defenseman Gustav Forsling’s sixth goal of the season.

Accepting a pass low in the Penguins’ right circle, Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov turned to his right and fed the puck to Forsling above the circle. As Crosby tried to line up for a potential block, Forsling gripped and ripped a wrister that whistled by goaltender Tristan Jarry’s left ear on the near side. Reinhart supplied a screen on the sequence. Barkov and Reinhard had assists.

Crosby tied the game at 11:09 of the second period by scoring his 11th goal during a power-play scenario as a result of some dynamic passing.

After beating Reinhart on a draw in Florida’s left circle, Crosby slid the puck back to the near point for Penguins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk. Sauntering his way to the center point, Grzelcyk fed a backhand pass to the left half wall where Rust accepted the puck. As Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad approached, Rust spun to his right and slid a clever backhand pass to the slot where Crosby pumped a one-timer from above the hashmarks past goaltender Spencer Knight’s blocker. Rust and Grzelcyk generated assists.

The hosts utilized a power-play opportunity to regain a lead at 8:47 of the third period when forward Matthew Tkachuk tallied his 14th goal.

Calming a puck at the right point of the offensive zone, Panthers defenseman Adam Boqvist offloaded it to the top of the left circle for Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe. Backpedaling into the slot, Verhaeghe sized up his options and snapped the puck to the right of the crease where Tkachuk was stationed. Replays appeared to show the puck striking one of Tkachuk’s legs and then deflecting into the cage by Jarry’s left skate. Verhaeghe and Boqvist had assists.

The Penguins persisted and tied the score again at 19:20 of the third frame when forward Rickard Rakell scored his team-leading 18th goal on another power-play scenario while Jarry was pulled for an extra attacker.

Coasting at the top of Florida’s right circle, Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin fed the puck to the lower end of the circle for Penguins forward Michael Bunting, who one-touched a pass to the lower right hashmark. Set up and ready to shoot, Rakell fired an immediate one-timer to the near side between Knight’s glove and left ribs. Bunting and Rakell had assists.

Jarry made 31 saves on 33 shots in regulation as well as overtime, and his record slipped to 8-6-3. After stopping Barkov on the opening attempt of the shootout, Jarry yielded goals to Reinhart and Lundell.

Rakell and Crosby were denied by Knight on the Penguins’ only two shootout attempts.

Notes:

• Prior to the game, the Penguins activated rookie defenseman Owen Pickering from injured reserve. The left-hander missed the previous four games due to a concussion and opened Friday’s contest on the right side of the third pairing.

• Penguins forward Kevin Hayes returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for the previous nine games. He opened the contest as the third-line center.

“He was good,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “Especially against a team like this, he’s big and strong. So, he can hang onto pucks.”

• Hayes replaced forward Anthony Beauvillier, who was scratched for the first time this season. In addition to Beauvillier, Penguins forward Jesse Puljujarvi and defenseman Ryan Shea were healthy scratches.

• Forward Noel Acciari, Crosby, Grzelcyk, defenseman Erik Karlsson, Malkin, forward Drew O’Connor and Rakell are the only players who have appeared in all 40 of the Penguins’ games this season.

• Rust appeared in his 600th career game and recorded his 400th career point.

• Rakell (142 points) surpassed forward Keith McCreary (141) for 63rd place on the franchise’s career scoring list.

• Malkin (1,328 points) surpassed forward Pierre Turgeon (1,327) for 34th place on the NHL’s career scoring list.

• In 52 career games against the Panthers, Crosby has 66 points (30 goals, 36 assists).

• In 47 career games against the Panthers, Malkin has 51 points (18 goals, 33 assists).

• In 17 career games against the Penguins, Tkachuk has 18 points (five goals, 13 assists).

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