Newcomer Philip Tomasino scores third-period winner, Penguins earn rare victory in Boston

BOSTON — It didn’t take Philip Tomasino long to make an impact for the Penguins.

The 23-year-old forward, who was acquired in a trade on Monday, got the go-ahead goal on Jeremy Swayman during the third period to help the Penguins earn a rare win at TD Garden. They beat the Bruins, 2-1, for their second straight victory.

On the decisive goal, Tomasino ran a give-and-go with new linemate Evgeni Malkin and found a soft spot in the slot. He made a little move then fired a shot between the pads of Swayman, who was jostling with Drew O’Connor a few seconds earlier.

Tomasino celebrated his first Penguins goal with a furious fist pump on one knee.

That was a fine moment for him — and maybe a turn of the corner for the Penguins, who showed mental toughness by sticking with it despite early scoring struggles.

It was Black Friday, but the Penguins could not buy a goal on Swayman for a while.

He stopped Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust on a 2-on-1 during the first period. And when the Penguins made a substantial push in the second, he made difficult saves on a streaking Anthony Beauvillier, the short-handed Noel Acciari and Tomasino.

The Penguins peppered Swayman with 15 shots on goal during the second period.

It appeared Swayman and the Bruins would keep a 1-0 lead secure heading into the second intermission, allowing them to regroup in the home dressing room. But the Penguins changed the game by scoring with 0.8 seconds left in the period.

Crosby won a faceoff, shoveling the puck back to Erik Karlsson at the point. When Karlsson missed the net, Crosby swooped behind the net to receive the puck and centered it to Rickard Rakell. Rakell beat a sprawling Swayman — who got tangled up with one of his defensemen and couldn’t recover — for the unlikely equalizer.

The Penguins carried that momentum into the third period, and Tomasino scored the winning goal with 12:34 in regulation to complete the comeback for Pittsburgh.

The Penguins fell behind in the second minute of the game, with Tristan Jarry giving up yet another early goal. In his defense, it was the result of a baffling breakdown.

Blake Lizotte raced back to make it an even 3-on-3 rush. But defensemen Ryan Shea and Jack St. Ivany were not on the same page and left Charlie Coyle all alone on the right side. Trent Frederic found him, and Coyle had time to pick his spot on Jarry.

The Penguins continue to falter trying to shut down counterattacks like that, when they have numbers back but cannot sort out who should be covering whom. That’s a big part of why they are among the NHL’s worst at defending against the rush.

That sequence marred what was otherwise a solid opening period for the visitors.

But the Penguins were the better team the rest of the way, and they got the saves they needed from Jarry, too. He made 32 to earn his second win in as many starts.

The Penguins helped him out with some big blocks, too. At one point in the third period, Kris Letang flopped in the blue paint to prevent the Bruins from tying it up.

Ice chips

— The Penguins had scored power-play goals in four straight games — their longest streak all season — before the Bruins shut them down Friday. They went 0 for 2.

— There was an unusual sequence late in the first period when Nikita Zadorov poked Malkin with his stick from the Boston bench. Malkin swung his stick toward the bench in retaliation, then a scrum ensued. After a long review, Malkin received a slashing penalty, but Pittsburgh somehow got a power play out of the squabble.

— Owen Pickering missed his second straight game due to illness. He did not travel to Boston with the team. Ryan Graves and Jesse Puljujarvi were healthy scratches.

— The Penguins iced the same lineup that they used in Wednesday’s home win over Vancouver. The only tweak was they listed Acciari and not Kevin Hayes as their fourth-line center. However, the two are essentially interchangeable on that line.

— Goalie prospect Sergei Murashov was promoted to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. He went 7-2-0 with a .919 save percentage in the ECHL.

Stat n’at

1 — In eight starts this season, Jarry stopped the first five shots he faced only once.

Coming up

The Penguins are back on the ice Saturday night, when they host the Calgary Flames at PPG Paints Arena. The Flames beat them, 4-3, in their first meeting this season.