A big reason Sullivan must go lol..
“Sullivan reunited Tomasino and Evgeni Malkin last Sunday in Minnesota, the day the Penguins’ sudden surge began. This season, Tomasino has arguably been at his best while on Malkin’s right wing, with the team generating a higher rate of shots, scoring chances and goals compared to when he has played with another center.
However, they have a subpar percentage of expected goals in those minutes, per Natural Stat Trick. That speaks to Sullivan’s desire to see him round out his game.
Of course, he has harped on the need for Tomasino to display more attention to detail on the defensive side — typical things such as positioning and stopping on pucks.
That played into Sullivan making him a healthy scratch for a game in late January and at times has led to Tomasino getting his minutes trimmed a bit some nights.
But Sullivan is also encouraging Tomasino to develop a “grind game” offensively.”…
“Sullivan wants Tomasino to establish a “down-low game” below the hash marks.
“Hanging onto pucks, protecting pucks, getting underneath defensemen at the net front, getting to the blue paint and being willing to go to those hard areas,” he said. “Usually, there’s a cost to pay when you go there. You’re going to take a face wash, a cross-check. But that’s how you establish a grind game and score different ways.”
www.nhl.com
