A Storybook Goal: Malkin Nets 500th with Assist from Crosby

Evgeni Malkin finished last season with 498 career goals, just two shy of a momentous milestone.

“I really wanted to score last year, then all summer I was thinking too much, probably,” Malkin admitted with a smile. After getting within one on Monday in Montreal, Malkin’s teammates, friends, and parents were all rooting for him to achieve it on Wednesday at home – and he delivered.

Malkin became the 48th player in NHL history to score 500 career goals, joining Alex Ovechkin as the only Russian-born players to ever reach that mark.

Malkin reflected on the significance of that following Pittsburgh’s 6-5 overtime win over Buffalo.

“It’s not easy, it’s a long way to score 500, but I’m glad to do it tonight. Finally!” said Malkin, who got it in his 1,150^th career game. “Now I’m like, more relaxed, more calm. But for the first time probably, I want to say I’m proud of myself. It’s a great number for me. I’m from a small hometown in Russia, Magnitogorsk, first guy who’s done this and second Russian. I work hard every day, and people probably don’t understand that sometimes it’s not easy for me. But, it’s a great story, Sid pass to me… it’s amazing, I love it. Again, congrats to myself (laughs).”

Malkin had also (hilariously) congratulated himself after earning the only assist on Sidney Crosby’s 500^th goal on Feb. 15, 2022 against Philadelphia.

That night, Malkin said, “I hope someday he can give me an assist on my 500^th goal!” Of course, that’s exactly what happened, as Crosby recorded the only helper on Malkin’s.

On the play, Malkin had the puck along the boards at the hashmarks. He pushed it to Crosby behind the net and beelined for the blue paint. The captain gave it back, with Malkin losing his footing on the first attempt – and whacking in the rebound from the ice.

“I wanted to find a way, and sometimes it doesn't work out. Obviously, we don't play together on a line that often,” Crosby said. “So, whether it's power play or that sort of thing, I was hoping that I'd have an opportunity to try to find him and it worked out. He set me up so nicely there for my 500^th; I was hoping I could return the favor. His was a little more work than mine. Just a beautiful goal.”

Bryan Rust was the first Penguins player to hug Malkin, with Crosby quickly joining them as the entire Pittsburgh bench raced over to congratulate their teammate. The fans had started chanting “GENO! GENO!” during the team’s first power play in the first period, and those chants became thunderous as the Penguins celebrated.

Malkin could only shake his head when thinking about how it couldn’t have been scripted better. “This is a great story. I don't know how it's worked, but I’m the only assist to him on 500, and he's the only assist to me,” Malkin said. “Like, it's crazy. Sometimes, I do not understand how this works. But this is a great story for me and him. We probably deserve that, to share this night together.”

Since being drafted by the Penguins, they've each built remarkable legacies that have become intertwined - and even more exceptional as a result.

For Crosby and Malkin to make such incredible individual marks on this sport at its highest level while simultaneously accomplishing such incredible team success – and becoming family in the process – is just incredibly special.

“He came over my second year. Just waiting patiently for him to come over, hoping that it was sooner than later… he just seemed special right from the start,” Crosby said. “I think that, yeah, I did envision that's what I was hoping it would work out as and it has. I'm super grateful for it, and I think that whether it's moments like tonight or other things that we've shared, good and bad, it's been pretty incredible to be part of the team and play with him over this amount of time.”

Perhaps the only minor edit to this particular storybook moment would be Crosby recording his 1,600^th point on the milestone tally. It almost happened in the first period, when Crosby found Malkin in the slot. He got a look, but it took Rust from the side of the net to get it over the line.

Crosby became the 10th player in NHL history to record 1,600 regular-season points, reaching it in the fifth-fewest games. It's the first time this milestone has been reached by an NHL player since Jaromir Jagr on Oct. 6, 2011.

“I'm glad he scored 1,600 points. He deserves every point,” Malkin said. “He’s leadership, captain… he works every practice. He did not score the last couple games, but he deserved the overtime goal and each point.”

After the Two-Headed Monster were photographed with their milestone pucks after the game, Crosby held his up and joked to Malkin, “what happens if I would have passed it to you on this one?”

“It would be unbelievable, yeah? Get it like, cut,” Malkin responded.

“You would’ve got it. I wouldn’t have cut it in half on you,” Crosby said with a grin.

Later, the captain said, “we’ve shared a lot of milestones together and a lot of memories. To be able to add this one with a win, the way he did it… that was a pretty awesome goal. I'll have a great memory of that one.

“I had a front-row seat to watch him do it. We’re just really happy for him. We know how hard it is to get to that number and how long and how well he's been doing it for. That’s a great achievement, and I’m proud of him.”