Game Notes
Evgeni Malkin is set to appear in his 1,100th NHL game. Drafted second overall in the 2004 NHL Draft, Malkin is looking to become just the third member of his draft class to reach this milestone along with Alex Ovechkin (1,382) and Blake Wheeler (1,154). Malkin has recorded 1,261 points (485G-776A) through his first 1,099 games. His 1,261 points will be the 17th most points through a player’s first 1,100 games in NHL history.
Sidney Crosby has 68 points (18G-50A) in 56 career games against the Bruins, which includes 27 points (6G-21A) over his last 25 contests. No active player in the NHL has more points against Boston than Crosby.
Crosby leads Pittsburgh in goals (21) and is second in multi-point games (8) and points (38). Crosby has registered points in 27 of 36 games this season (75.0%), and last game surpassed Joe Thornton for 12th place on the NHL’s all-time points list (Crosby: 1,540; Thornton: 1,539).
The captain has been finding the back of the net at a consistent pace. He is ranks eighth in the NHL in goals and his 16 goals at even strength are tied for third in the league. Crosby has been especially dangerous on the road, picking up 21 points (14G-7A) in 18 road games. His 14 goals on the road lead the NHL.
Rickard Rakell has 14 points (7G-7A) in 16 games played against the Bruins, which includes four multi-point efforts.
Rakell recorded his third multi-point effort of the season on Tuesday against Washington. Rakell has points in five of his last six games, and seven points total (3G-4A) in seven games since returning to the lineup on Dec. 18. He ranks fourth on Pittsburgh in goals and fifth in points since returning from injury.
Jake Guentzel recorded his 10th multi-point outing of the season on Tuesday (1G-1A). His 10 multi-point outings rank first on the Penguins.
Drew O’Connor has three points (2G-1A) in his last five games. O’Connor’s 11 points on the season (4G-7A) tie his career high in points which he set in 2022.23.
Marcus Pettersson leads the Penguins and ranks seventh in the NHL in plus/ minus this season at plus-19.
Pittsburgh has been playing consistent hockey as of late, picking up points in eight of its last 10 games (7-2-1). Since this stretch began on Dec. 12, only three teams have accumulated more points than the Penguins (CAR, 17; SEA, 16; WPG, 16).
Erik Karlsson leads all Pittsburgh defensemen with 24 points (6G-18A) in 36 games. The Swedish blueliner has notched 785 points (184G-601A) in 956 career games, and is two points shy of tying fellow countrymen Borje Salming for the 19th-most points in NHL history among defensemen, and second all-time among Swedish-born defensemen.
The Penguins have been one of the league’s most defensively conscious teams this season. Pittsburgh’s 96 goals against and 2.67 goals-against average are sixth in the NHL, and the team’s .913 save percentage is fourth in the league.
Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson have had success against Boston in their careers. The duo ranks third and fourth in points among active defensemen against the Bruins, respectively (Letang: 24 Pts.; Karlsson: 22 Pts.)
