Game Notes
Today, the Penguins will retire their third jersey number in franchise history. Jaromir Jagr’s no. 68 will rise to the rafters during a pre-game on-ice ceremony. Jagr will be joined on the ice by teammates from the 1991 and ‘92 Stanley Cup Championship teams, special guests of Jagr, and the current Penguins team.
Jagr, whose NHL career spanned over two decades, is one of the most accomplished players in NHL history and a member of the league’s ‘100 Greatest Players.’ In 1,733 career regular-season games, Jagr scored 766 goals, 1,155 assists and 1,921 points. He ranks fourth all-time in games played and goals and fifth in assists, and only Wayne Gretzky (2,857) has recorded more points than him. No player in NHL history has more game-winning goals than Jagr’s 135.
Erik Karlsson enters tonight’s game two points shy of 800 in his career. Drafted in the first round (15th overall) in the 2008 NHL Draft, Karlsson is set to become just the second active defenseman to record 800 points, joining Brent Burns (868). Karlsson, who has appeared in 971 games, has a chance to become the ninth-fastest defenseman to 800 points in NHL history.
Pittsburgh has been one of the most defensively conscious teams in the league this season. The Penguins have allowed just 135 goals against in 51 games this season, a figure that is second among all Eastern Conference teams and tied for the third-fewest in the NHL.
Jeff Carter, who spent 10 seasons with the Kings from 2012.21, ranks 10th and 14th on Los Angeles’ all-time goals (194) and points (383) lists, respectively. His 44 game-winning goals with LA are the fifth-most in franchise history.
Carter’s 64.5 faceoff winning percentage ranks second-best in the NHL (min. 200 FO). The Penguins’ 55.7% faceoff winning percentage ranks first in the league this season.
Evgeni Malkin has more game-winning goals (4) against the Los Angeles Kings than any active Eastern Conference player. Additionally, he has 20 points in 21 career games against the Kings, recording nine goals and 11 assists.
Reilly Smith is the only member of the Penguins roster to assist on a Jaromir Jagr goal, which came on Feb. 18, 2016 when they were both members of the Florida Panthers.
Marcus Pettersson’s plus-21 is tied for the ninth in the NHL.
Bryan Rust hit an empty net Thursday night in Chicago, scoring a goal in his third straight game. A goal tonight will give him his first goal streak of four-plus games since his career-long five-game streak during the 2021.22 campaign.
On Thursday, Sidney Crosby netted two goals, helping him hit the 30-goal plateau for the 12th time in his career. In doing so, he became just the 14th player in NHL history to record 12-plus 30-goal seasons and joined Alex Ovechkin as the only active players to accomplish this feat. Crosby now holds sole possession of the most 30-goal campaigns in Penguins history.
Crosby scored twice at even strength on Thursday in Chicago, giving him 407 career even-strength goals. In doing so, he surpassed Mario Lemieux (405) for the 16th-most even-strength goals in NHL History, and tied Jari Kurri for 15th place.
On Friday, Pittsburgh claimed forward Matthew Phillips off of waivers from the Washington Capitals. Phillips is signed through the 2023.24 season and his contract carries an average annual value of $775,000 at the NHL level.
Phillips, 25, has spent the 2023.24 campaign with the Washington Capitals where he’s appeared in 27 games, recording one goal, four assists and five points. He scored his first-career NHL goal and notched his first multi-point effort (1G-1A) on Oct. 16 against the Calgary Flames. The 5-foot-8, 160-pound Phillips has played parts of three seasons in the NHL, split between Washington and the Calgary Flames. Phillips has notched five points (1G-4A) in 30 career NHL games.
A native of Calgary, Alberta, Phillips has excelled at the AHL level, having played parts of six seasons with the Stockton Heat and Calgary Wranglers. He’s recorded 237 points (103G-134A) in 265 AHL games, with his best season coming in 2022.23, where he established AHL career highs in goals (36), assists (40) and points (76). Phillips was named an AHL All-Star in both 2020 and 2023.
Captain Sidney Crosby (580) enters tonight’s game three goals shy of tying Wayne Gretzky (583) for the seventh-most goals on a single franchise in NHL history.
