Game Notes
Tonight’s game is the conclusion of the annual Dads’ Trip. Last season, Pittsburgh went 2-0-0 with their dads in attendance. This season, the team won with their dads in attendance at home on Tuesday, and picked up the win in Montreal on Wednesday.
Sidney Crosby’s two goals on Wednesday night gave him four multi-goal games in 2023.24. He leads all Penguins in multi-goal games, surpassing Jake Guentzel’s three multi-goal games.
Jansen Harkins scored a goal that ended a shootout that went 12 rounds in Montreal on Wednesday night. Per NHL PR, the 12 rounds of a shootout needed to finish the Penguins’ 4-3 victory over the Canadiens is the eighth-longest shootout in NHL history and the longest since the Islanders topped the Ducks after 14 rounds on Nov. 22, 2016.
Only the Edmonton Oilers (6) have more players with 20-plus points than Pittsburgh’s five - Jake Guentzel (32), Sidney Crosby (31), Evgeni Malkin (24), Erik Karlsson (21) and Bryan Rust (20).
Pittsburgh is 3-0-2 in its last five games played in Canada dating back to last season.
Kris Letang has 11 points (1G-10A) in his last 15 games against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and 29 points (3G-26A) in 43 games against them total.
Captain Sidney Crosby leads Pittsburgh in goals (17) and is second in points (31) and multi-point games (6). Crosby has registered points in 22 of 28 games this season (78.6%), and after his three-point outing in Montreal on Wednesday is one point shy of surpassing Mark Recchi for sole possession of 13th place on the NHL’s all-time points list.
Crosby has been finding the back of the net at a consistent pace. His 17 goals on the year are tied for the third-most he’s scored through 28 games in his career (23 goals in 28 GP in both 2010-11 and 2016- 17). Only four players in the NHL have scored more goals than Crosby this season, and his 14 goals at even strength are tied for second in the league.
Erik Karlsson enters tonight’s game two assists away from collecting 600 helpers in his career. Karlsson will be the second active defenseman to record 600 career assists after Carolina’s Brent Burns (601), and just the 10th active player to hit the mark. He is set to become the 18th blueliner in NHL history to reach the milestone, and the eighth fastest to do so in league history.
Pittsburgh’s power play has been red hot over the last two games, going 4-for-8 (50.0%) and helping the Penguins go 2-0-0 in that span. Since this stretch began on Dec. 12, Pittsburgh’s 50% success rate on the power play is tied for first in the NHL, but no other team has scored more power-play goals.
Marcus Pettersson enters tonight’s game one assist shy of 100 in his career. Pettersson ranks first on Pittsburgh in plus-minus (+13), is third in time-on-ice per game (22:15) and blocked shots (44), and is looking to become just the sixth defenseman chosen in the 2014 NHL Draft Class to record 100 assists.
Evgeni Malkin has made a habit of turning in big performances against the Toronto Maple Leafs over the course of his career. In 44 games, Malkin has 24 goals, 44 assists and 68 points. He has been held scoreless against Toronto only nine times in his career, and has recorded three or more points 10 times. In the 19 games that he’s recorded multiple points versus the Maple Leafs, the Penguins are 14-4-1. Malkin’s 1.58 points-per-game average is his highest against any team, and is the highest against Toronto among all active players (min. 3 games).
Malkin’s 1.58 points-per-game average is tied for ninth best in NHL history (min. 15 GP). Malkin is quickly closing in on Mario Lemieux’s franchise record for points against the Toronto Maple Leafs. In 33 career games, Lemieux recorded 71 points (31G-40A).
Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang, have put up solid numbers against the Maple Leafs in their careers. Karlsson leads all active defensemen with 11 goals, 32 assists and 43 points in 44 games against Toronto, while Letang’s 29 points (3G-26A) in 43 games ranks third among active blueliners.
