Game Notes
The Penguins have won three of their last five, and have points in nine of their last 14 home games versus the Maple Leafs (9-4-1) dating back to Nov. 27, 2013.
Jake Guentzel has points in 12 of his last 14 games (5G-11A). Since this stretch began on Oct. 24, only Sidney Crosby (10G-8A) has more points than his 16.
Sidney Crosby’s 13 goals are tied for third in the NHL, and just one goal off of being tied for most in the league.
Penguins Captain Sidney Crosby leads Pittsburgh in goals (13) and points (23), is second in multi-point games (5), and has registered points in 16 of 19 games this season (84.2%). Crosby was also named the NHL’s Third Star of the Week for the week ending Nov. 19 after leading the Penguins and ranking second in the NHL with seven points (5G2A) in four games. Crosby, who ranks 15th in NHL history with 1,525 points (563G-962A), is just one goal shy of cracking the top-25 list for most goals in NHL history.
The Penguins have been one of the NHL’s best teams at 5-on-5 play this season. Pittsburgh’s 45 goals for at 5-on-5 are tied for sixth in the NHL, and the Penguins have the NHL’s top-two point scorers at even strength: Crosby (20) and Guentzel (19).
Evgeni Malkin enters tonight’s game one goal shy hitting the 10-goal plateau for the 16th time in his career. When he does so, Malkin will become just the seventh active player with 16 or more 10-goal campaigns.
Pittsburgh has made a habit of tallying the first goal of the game this season, as they’ve scored first in 15 of 19 contests, a figure that ranks first in the NHL.
Evgeni Malkin has made a habit of turning in big performances against the Toronto Maple Leafs over the course of his career. In 43 games, Malkin has 24 goals, 44 assists and 68 points. He has been held scoreless against Toronto only eight 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. 2 games).
