Game Notes
Jake Guentzel has points in 17 of his last 19 games (8G-14A). Since this stretch began on Oct. 24, no Penguin has more points than his 22.
Erik Karlsson (19) is on the brink of hitting the 20-point plateau. He is looking to become the fifth player on Pittsburgh to accomplish this feat, joining Jake Guentzel (28), Sidney Crosby (26), Evgeni Malkin (21) and Bryan Rust (20). Only Edmonton (5), Tampa Bay (5) and Vancouver (5) have more players with 20-plus points.
Jeff Carter has 19 goals and 33 points (19G-14A) in 42 career games versus the Lightning. Only four active players have more goals against the Lightning than him.
Sidney Crosby has scored the first goal of the game five times, which is more than any other player in the NHL.
The goaltending trio of Tristan Jarry, Alex Nedeljkovic and Magnus Hellberg have been exceptional for the Penguins this season. No team has more shutouts than Pittsburgh’s 5 (Jarry, 3; Nedljkovic, 3; Team Combination, 1), and the Penguins’ team save percentage of .918 is third in the NHL.
Captain Sidney Crosby leads Pittsburgh in goals (15) and is second in points (26) and multi-point games (5). Crosby has registered points in 19 of 24 games this season (79.1%), Crosby, who ranks 15th in NHL history with 1,528 points (565G-963A), is three points shy of tying Paul Coffey for 14th place on the NHL’s all-time points list.
The Penguins have been one of the NHL’s best teams at 5-on-5 play this season. Pittsburgh’s 56 goals for at 5-on-5 only trail Vancouver (57), and the Penguins have the NHL’s top-two point scorers at even strength: Jake Guentzel (25), Sidney Crosby (23).
Guentzel notched an assist on Monday night, extending his point streak to six games (3G-4A). Going back further Guentzel has points in 14 of his last 15 games (7G-12A) and has notched a point in 20 of 24 games this year. His 20 games with a point are tied for first in the NHL.
Kris Letang has 41 points (5G-36A) in 45 career games versus Tampa Bay. He has more points against the Lightning than any other non-Metropolitan Division team. He enters tonight’s game riding an eight-game point streak (10A) against the Lightning, which is the longest active point streak in the NHL versus them.
