Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan has shared that red-hot winger Philip Tomasino will be held out of Saturday’s game with an upper-body injury. Seth Rorabaugh of Pittsburgh’s Tribune-Review Sports adds that Tomasino is out on a day-to-day basis.
Tomasino has been on fire since joining the Penguins. He’s on a four-game scoring streak, netting three goals and four points along the way. Tomasino has already lapped the one assist he managed in 11 games with Nashville to start the year – likely thanks to the near-four minutes more in average ice time he’s received in Pittsburgh, jumping from 11:18 a night with Nashville to 15:00 with Pittsburgh. Tomasino is one of seven Penguins rivaling point-per-game scoring over the last four games. That standing will earn him a quick return to the Penguins’ top-six when he’s back to full health.
Other quick notes around the league:
- Polarizing defenseman Tony DeAngelo shared that he’s not optimistic about an NHL return with Larry Brooks of the New York Post. DeAngelo signed a contract with Russia’s SKA St. Petersburg this summer. He’s managed four goals and 24 points in his first 23 games with the club. He told Brooks that his goal is to return to the NHL, but didn’t specify what’s limiting his hopes. DeAngelo played through eight NHL seasons, mostly spent between the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes. He stood as a high-scoring, but minimal-defense option for both teams. With no NHL deal in sight, DeAngelo moved to Russia over the summer and may be kept there despite scoring above a point-per-game. DeAngelo is joined on the SKA roster by former NHL players Evgeny Kuznetsov, Nikita Zaitsev, and Mikhail Grigorenko.
- Brayden Tracey, the 29th-overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, has signed a one-year contract with Jukurit of Finland’s Liiga. He’ll move over seas after starting this season with no points through four games with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors. Tracey has spent the bulk of the last five seasons with the Anaheim Ducks’ minor league affiliate, totaling 84 points through 188 games. He’s received just one NHL game over that tenure – recording nine minutes of ice time and no scoring in a win over Detroit in January of 2022. He was returned to the minors immediately after, and hasn’t earned a look since. Tracey will now try to prove his worth, and earn another NHL contract, with a strong year in Finland’s top league.
- The Seattle Kraken have returned forward Mitchell Stephens to the minor leagues, per the AHL Transaction Log. Stephens slotted into Seattle’s last four games, recording six shots on net but no scoring while operating on the Kraken’s fourth line. He’ll return to a middle-six role in the AHL, where he currently has three goals and four points in 11 games. Stephens split time between the Montreal Canadiens’ NHL and AHL roster last season, recording three points in 23 NHL games and 35 points in 49 AHL games.
By no means am I a DeAngelo guy, but to say he was a problem in Carolina is just wrong and irresponsible reporting. He never did anything wrong while here in Raleigh. He just wasn’t a good fit in Brindy’s system.
What “antics” did he pull in Carolina? He was pretty well liked. His D wasn’t great, but everyone knows that.
Tony D just honing the craft.
@Gabriel — The inclusion of Carolina in the “theatrics” sentence isn’t mentioned in Brooks’ article. As @mikedickinson and @Pepe501 have stated, there doesn’t appear to be much in the way of evidence that he was a problem with the Hurricanes. Brooks propagating the “polarizing” label can be seen as irresponsible, but it is also his opinion, rather than factual proof.
That sentence has been adjusted, thank you each!
@Gabriel — Thanks! On an unrelated note, can you look into why the number of “Replies & Thumbs Up” on our notification bells is stuck and not changing when we (or me) follow up on one of them? I just tested this in another browser profile and it behaved the same way. TIA.
Yes yes – we’re working on the backend to fix this. It seems to be an issue for all users… myself included. Hoping to have it fixed soon!
D’Angelo has been a head case everywhere he’s been. He even managed to rub Torts the wrong way . He’s always been a cancer and he’s right, he probably won’t see another game in the NHL.
I mean, you act like “rubbing Torts the wrong way” isn’t easy, especially when you play trash defense.
That part was sarcasm.