Game Notes
Kris Letang leads all active NHL blueliners in goals (13), assists (36) and points (49) versus the Islanders.
Kevin Hayes has notched 12 goals, seven assists and 19 points in 39 career games against the New York Islanders. His 12 goals versus them are the most that he’s scored against any one team.
Valtteri Puustinen has picked up five points (3G-2A) in four career games against the Islanders. 50% of his career goals have come against the Islanders (3/6) and 23% of his career points have come versus them (5/22).
The Penguins own an overall record of 389-90-47 when both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin record a point in a game.
The Penguins have allowed just two goals over their last two games are tied for first in the NHL, allowing just 1.00 goals against per game dating back to Oct. 31. In that span, goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic has been solid between the pipes going 2-0-0 with a 0.98 goals-against average and a .959 save percentage. He ranks second in the NHL in save percentage (min. 2 GP) since Oct. 31 (Shesterkin, 2 GP, .962 Sv%). His 0.98 goals-against average also ranks second in the NHL during that same span.
Sidney Crosby, who has notched four goals over his last two games, enters tonight’s contest just three goals shy of becoming just the 21st player in NHL history to reach 600 goals. Crosby is looking to join Washington’s Alex Ovechkin (860) as the only active players to accomplish this milestone. Throughout franchise history, only Mario Lemieux (690) has scored more goals in a Penguins sweater than Crosby.
Among first-overall draft picks, only Ovechkin (860G, 1,437 GP) and Lemieux (690G, 915 GP) have scored more goals than Crosby.
Ovechkin scored his 600th NHL goal on March 12, 2018. Prior to that, the last time anyone reached 600 goals in the league came on Jan. 4, 2016 when Jarome Iginla found the back of the net against Los Angeles as a member of the Colorado Avalanche.
Crosby stayed hot on Saturday night, registering two goals in the Penguins win against Montreal. He enters tonight’s game with multiple goals in two-straight games and has multiple points in three-consecutive games dating back to Oct. 29. During this span, his four goals are tied for second in the NHL and his seven points (3G-4A) are tied for third.
For his efforts, Crosby was named the NHL’s Third Star of the Week ending Nov. 3. This marks the seventh time in his career he has scored multiple goals in back-to-back games. The only instance in his career where he’s had multiple goals in three-consecutive games came from Nov. 28-Dec. 3, 2009 (3GP, 7G-4A).
Crosby’s second goal of the game on Saturday night doubled as the game-winning goal. Crosby, who has tallied game-winning goals in back-to-back games, is now tied for 14th (93 GWG) on the NHL’s all-time game-winning goals list. If Crosby were to score the game-winner tonight, it would mark just the second time in his career he would have scored a game-winning goal in three-straight games (also Jan. 23-Feb. 2, 2016; 3 GWG).
Crosby enters tonight’s game just three assists shy of tying Hall-of-Famer Joe Sakic for the 13th most assists in NHL history. He’s also looking to tie Sakic for the sixth-most assists by a player with a single franchise in league history.
Crosby’s first goal of the night on Saturday helped him surpass Luc Robitaille for the 13th-most evenstrength goals in NHL history. He is now three even-strength goals shy of tying Teemu Selanne for 12th place.
Erik Karlsson picked up an assist on Saturday night against Montreal to give him assists in back-to-back games (2A). He is now two assists shy of tying Doug Wilson for 16th place on the NHL’s all-time points list among defensemen.
The Penguins rank sixth in the NHL in penalty kill percentage at 86.5%. Over the last seven games dating back to Oct. 20, the team has ranked first in the NHL, going 19-for-20 in that span.
Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang have combined on 305 goals in their careers after Crosby’s second-period goal on Saturday night. They are one goal shy of tying Boston’s Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr for the second-most goals combined on by a forward-defenseman duo in NHL history.
Cody Glass is set to appear in his 200th career game tonight against the New York Islanders. The 25-yearold was drafted sixth overall by Vegas in 2017 and has spent his six NHL seasons split between the Golden Knights, Nashville Predators, and Pittsburgh Penguins. In his career, Glass has recorded 29 goals, 46 assists and 75 points in 199 games. The 6-foot-3, 201-pound winger has been a key member of the Penguins penalty killing unit, which currently ranks sixth in the NHL. Glass is averaging 2:01 of shorthanded time on ice per game this season, which is fourth among team forwards and on pace to be a career high.
Throughout his career, Sidney Crosby has played dominant hockey against the New York Islanders. In 86 career games, Crosby has recorded 134 points (41G-93A) against the Islanders, helping Pittsburgh to a 51-23-12 record in those games. He has almost double the amount of multi-point games against them (40) as opposed to games with no points (22). Only Jaromir Jagr (155) has more points against the Islanders in NHL history than Crosby’s 134. Crosby’s 134 points versus the Islanders are also the most that any active player has against one single team.
Crosby is one of 17 players in NHL history, and the only active player, to have 100 or more points against three or more franchises.
