Pittsburgh has been one of the hottest teams in the NHL over the last month, going 10-4-1 in its last 15 games.
During this 13-game stretch, the Penguins top line of Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell have dominated, combining for 22 goals and 57 points.
Bryan Rust has been one of the hottest players in the NHL during Pittsburgh’s 10-4-1 stretch, recording a team-high (tied) 19 points (10G-9A) in 15 games. His 19 points are 13th in the league since Nov. 27, and only Jake Guentzel (11) and Brayden Point (11) have more goals than his 10.
Rust is one point shy of becoming the 15th player in franchise history to record 400 points. Rust, who was selected in the third round (80th overall) in the 2010 NHL Draft, is looking to become the 20th member of his draft class to reach 400 points. Over the last five seasons, only three members of his draft class have accumulated more points than Rust.
Assistant Coach David Quinn has Pittsburgh’s power play firing on all cylinders after going 2-for-2 on Sunday against New York. The Penguins rank fifth in the NHL in power-play percentage (25.9%) and going back to Nov. 30, no team has had a better success rate than Pittsburgh’s 35.9%.
The Penguins have scored a whopping six power-play goals in their last nine opportunities (66.7%) over their last three games.
Not to be outdone by the Penguins’ fifth-ranked power play, assistant coach Mike Vellucci has Pittsburgh’s penalty-killing unit operating at a high rate. The Penguins are tied for sixth in the NHL in penalty-killing percentage (83.0%) and have killed off 21 of their last 22 penalties (95.5%) over their last nine games dating back to Dec. 10. They’ve allowed a power-play goal against in just 14 of the team’s 38 games, and only five teams have fewer games this season allowing an opposing power-play goal.
Pittsburgh is one of just four teams in the NHL with top-10 power-play and penalty-killing units.
Winger Michael Bunting found the scoresheet again Sunday night against New York, picking up two points (1G-1A) to extend his goal/point streak to three games (3G-1A). After starting the season with just one assist in his first 12 games, Bunting has notched 20 points (11G-9A) over his last 25 games, which is fourth on Pittsburgh during that span.
Bunting has recorded seven of his 11 goals on the power play, which is tied for seventh in the NHL.
Bunting’s three-game goal scoring streak ties his career long streak originally set from Dec. 10-15, 2022 (3G). Only two players have a longer active goal streak than Bunting.
PENGUINS VS. RED WINGS
Defenseman Erik Karlsson enters tonight's game with six points (1G-5A) over his last six games. Going back further, Karlsson has recorded 13 points (1G-12A) over his last 15 games and in that span, only five NHL blueliners have recorded more points.
Evgeni Malkin has been historically successful against the Detroit Red Wings. In 32 career games against them, he has recorded 45 points (18G-27A), and has points in 15 of his last 19 games (11G-17A) versus Detroit. His 1.41 points-per-game average against them is second in the NHL among active players and is seventh in NHL history (min 25 GP).
Erik Karlsson has 35 points (9G-26A) in 33 games and Kris Letang has 30 points (8G-22A) in 35 career contests versus Detroit. Their goal totals are first and tied for second among active defensemen versus the Red Wings, respectively.
Karlsson’s 1.06 points-per-game average leads all active defensemen against Detroit, while Letang’s 0.86 points-per-game average is seventh best among league blueliners (min. 10 GP).
QUICK HITS
1) Michael Bunting has notched 15 points (6G-9A) in 13 career games against the Red Wings. His teams are 10-2-1 in games that he dresses against them.
2) Sidney Crosby has 47 points (18G-29A) in 37 career games against the Detroit Red Wings. He has multiple points in eight of his last 12 outings against them (7G-14A).
3) Sidney Crosby’s active six-game point streak against the Red Wings (4G-8A) is the seventh-longest active such streak in the NHL.
4) Nathan Clurman made his NHL debut on Sunday against the Islanders, becoming the 29th skater this season to dress in a game for Pittsburgh. Only Colorado (31) has used more skaters this season than the Penguins.
5) The Penguins own an overall record of 398-90-48 when both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin record a point in a game.
