Sidney Crosby enters tonight's game with 57 points (19G-38A) in 49 games versus the Senators. He has points in eight of his last 10 games against them (3G-11A).
Sidney Crosby (57) is just one point shy from surpassing Jaromir Jagr (57) for the most points against the Ottawa Senators in franchise history.
Michael Bunting has seven points (5G-2A) in 11 career games against Ottawa, which includes three goals in his last four games versus them.
Winger Bryan Rust has played some of the best hockey of his career against the Ottawa Senators. In 20 career games versus them, Rust has recorded nine goals, 10 assists, 19 points and is plus-14. Rust’s 0.95 points-per-game average versus the Senators is his fourth highest versus any one team. Two of Rust’s six career hat tricks have come against the Senators (Dec. 5, 2016 and Mar. 3, 2020).
Pittsburgh’s nine-goal outburst on Thursday night are the most goals that a single team has scored in a game in the NHL this season.
The Penguins own an overall record of 394-90-48 when both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin record a point in a game.
Sidney Crosby enters the game one multi-point performance back of surpassing Steve Yzerman (477) for sole possession of seventh place on the NHL’s all-time multi-point games list. Crosby notched his second three-assist game of the season on Thursday in Montreal and has points in seven of his last nine games (1G-9A). Crosby is two points shy of tying Joe Sakic for the eighth-most points (regular season + playoffs) in NHL history.
The Penguins’ power play has picked it up recently, connecting 11 times in the team’s last 11 games. In that span, Pittsburgh’s power-play percentage ranks ninth in the league at 29.7% (11/37), and they rank fifth with 11 power-play goals. Ten different Penguins have scored a power-play goal this season, with forward Michael Bunting leading the way. Pittsburgh’s power-play percentage ranks 12th overall at 23.1%. The team has points in 10 of 16 games (7-6-3) when scoring a power-play goal.
Forward Michael Bunting has been red hot for Pittsburgh after recording just one point in his first 12 games. Since his first goal of the season in game no. 13 on November 5 against the New York Islanders, he has registered 13 points (7G-6A) in 18 games. Bunting is riding an active four-game point streak (2G-2A), which is his longest such streak of the season. With a point tomorrow, he would have his fifth point streak of five or more games in his career.
Over the last six games, defenseman Kris Letang ranks second on Pittsburgh in points with eight (4G-4A). Since Nov. 30, his eight points rank second among all NHL blueliners.
Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang have combined on 305 goals in their careers. 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.
Forward Rickard Rakell was on fire in Montreal, tying his career high (originally set on Jan. 11, 2015 vs. WPG – 2G-2A) with four points (2G-2A) on the evening. Rakell, who leads the Penguins with 13 goals, has six points (3G-3A) in his last three games since Team Sweden left him off of their Four Nations Roster. This season, only two Swedish-born players have more goals than Rakell’s 13.
The Penguins have 20 different skaters with a goal this season after Matt Nieto buried his first of the year on Thursday in Montreal. Since November 27, the Penguins are 6-2-0 and they rank first in the NHL in goals. Pittsburgh’s 20 unique goal scorers this season are tied for the third most in the NHL.
