Tomasino Scores First NHL Goal as Preds Fall to Rangers

Philip Tomasino's first NHL goal wasn't enough as the Nashville Predators fell to the New York Rangers by a 3-1 final on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result gives the Preds one win in four tries to conclude their season-opening homestand, with each contest except tonight ending in a one-goal margin.
New York owned the game's first lead as Filip Chytil beat Preds goaltender Juuse Saros on a backhand just over two minutes into the contest, and that score held until Tomasino found the scoresheet for the first time.
After his initial chance in front hit the side of the net, Tomasino followed up the loose puck, and from behind the cage, the 20-year-old banked a shot in off the pads of Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin for goal No. 1 in the NHL.

Tomasino was inches away from another tally when he hit the post before the second stanza was out, but in the third, Alexis Lafreniere finished off a pretty passing play midway through the third for a 2-1 advantage, and the Rangers added an empty-netter before the night was over.
Shesterkin made 28 saves on the night for the visitors, while Saros turned aside 27 Ranger shots.

Thursday Storyline:

They had their chances, but the Predators only found the back of the net once on Thursday night, an outcome they wished had been different.
As they did in their first three outings of the season, there were a number of elements Nashville was proud of in their effort on Thursday night, but they also know a 1-3-0 record to start the season isn't ideal.
Prior to Thursday's 3-1 loss to the Rangers, each of Nashville's contests were one-goal affairs - and the matchup with New York essentially was too, with an empty-net tally coming with five seconds to play.
Yes, the Preds are right there, but they know more is needed, too.
"There were moments when they came at us, and there were moments when we came at them, but at the same time, when you keep a high-scoring offense like the Rangers to two goals or even one goal late in the third, you should probably be able to win the game, and that's kind of what stings right now," Preds defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. "We seem to have a hard time just finding those goals. I think we're getting opportunities. They are there in the net front, but the puck doesn't want to go in for us right now, and that's on us. We need to do that, and do a better job of just bearing down - we seem to get there but can't really finish. Other than that, as I said, [it was an] even hockey game. They had their moments, we had our moments."
"I thought it was a hard-fought game by both teams," Preds Head Coach John Hynes said simply. "I thought that they generated some chances, we generated a lot of chances and they found a way to get the game winner."
The bright spot of the night was Tomasino's first tally in the NHL, and in addition to the goal, the rookie appeared much more confident and collected in his second-career outing compared to his first.
"Today, I definitely felt a lot more comfortable," Tomasino said. "I think the first game I was maybe a little nervous, but honestly I think I felt better, and I think I was using my speed a little more. There's always better for myself, so I'm just looking to get better every game, and hopefully next time I feel even more comfortable as well."
"I thought Phil was good," Hynes said of Tomasino. "I thought he felt more comfortable, and I thought he played well. Obviously, it's nice to see him get his first goal. He had multiple opportunities to be able to score, so it's good to see him put the performance in that he did tonight."
The Preds will be hoping for a different result as they head on the road for the first time this season with a date in Winnipeg with the Jets on Saturday night.
As Ekholm says, it's not as if Nashville has been getting blown out by teams in the early going. There are certainly things to like about their game, but a tough back-to-back test away from home awaits this weekend, and the Preds know something still has to change.
"[A higher offensive output] is obviously something that certainly we would like to have in our game right now as well, because if we had, we would have been in a better position than 1-3," Ekholm said. "At the same time, that's something that obviously we can work on and be better at. I think there's a lot of fundamentals in our game that's there. When it comes to work ethic, we battle for each other. I mean, every game… it's like we just keep working, keep at them and keep standing in there. Even if they score, we score, we get one back, and we're definitely there and fighting, but it's that little detail, that last finish part that we need to find."

Highlight of the Night:

They Said It:

Philip Tomasino on scoring his first NHL goal:
"It was awesome. My parents were here tonight, so it was really cool to score in front of them. [It's my] first goal, so that was a special moment. All the boys were cheering me on and everyone said congrats to me, so that was really cool."

Notes:

Both Tomasino and Tommy Novak played in their second-career NHL games for the Preds. Forward Rocco Grimaldi, as well as defensemen Ben Harpur and Philippe Myers, were scratched for Nashville.
Predators defenseman Mark Borowiecki appeared in his 400th career game.
With the four-game homestand now complete, the Predators will head on the road for the first time this season for a back-to-back set this weekend. First, they'll face off against the Jets in Winnipeg on Saturday night before heading to Minnesota for a date with the Wild on Sunday evening.