Game Notes
Erik Karlsson (777) is one point shy of surpassing Rob Blake (777) for sole possession of the 20th most points among a defenseman in NHL history.
Tonight, forward Noel Acciari is set to appear in his 400th career NHL game. Acciari leads Pittsburgh in hits (31) and ranks first among team forwards with 18 blocked shots. His 2:33 minutes of shorthanded time-on-ice per game is also first among team forwards and third overall on the Penguins.
Evgeni Malkin and Rust each are tied for the team lead on the Penguins with three first goals of the game, and only Boston’s Pavel Zacha (4) and Toronto’s William Nylander (4) have more such goals in the league than the Pittsburgh duo.
The Penguins enters tonight’s game with wins in four-consecutive road games, which is the second-longest active road winning streak in the NHL behind the Los Angeles Kings (7).
Kris Letang enters tonight’s game one point shy of becoming just the third active, and 28th blueliner in NHL history, to record 700 points. Letang (157G-542A) is also looking to become the 10th defenseman in NHL history to record 700 points with one franchise.
Sidney Crosby enters tonight’s game riding a 10-game point streak (7G-8A) and has been held without a point just once in 15 games this year. His point streak is the longest by a Penguin this season, and this point streak marks the 11th point streak of 10 or more games in his career. Crosby is just the 15th player in NHL history with 11 point streaks of 10 or more games, and he and Connor McDavid (12x) are the only active players to accomplish this feat.
Erik Karlsson found the scoresheet for the seventh-straight game (1A) on Thursday night against New Jersey. His seven-game point streak is the longest active point streak among defensemen.
