The Penguins continue their season-long seven-game road trip spanning a total of 15 days. It’s the longest road trip for Pittsburgh since their eight-game road swing nearly 30 years ago from Oct. 14-28, 1997 (NYR-MTL-TBL-FLA-SJS-EDM-VAN-CGY).
Tonight, Erik Karlsson faces the team that hosted his talents for five seasons from 2018-23. In 293 games with the Sharks, Karlsson recorded 243 points (52G-191A) and led all Sharks defensemen in goals, assists and points. During his tenure in San Jose, Karlsson ranked first in assists, sixth in goals and fourth in points. Karlsson led San Jose in assists in 2019-20 (34) and 2022-23 (76) and led all Sharks in points in 2022-23 (101).
Rickard Rakell has 32 points (16G-16A) in 37 career games versus the Sharks. His 16 goals are tied for seventh among all active players against San Jose.
Matt Grzelcyk enters this game with 25 points (1G-24A) and is just one point shy of tying his career high of 26 set in 75 games with Boston in 22-23. His 0.49 points-per-game average is on pace to be the second-highest of his career. Grzelcyk has already set career highs this season in assists (24) and power-play points (10), and is on pace to establish a new career best in time on ice per game (20:12).
Bryan Rust, who ranks second on Pittsburgh with 19 goals, is just one tally shy of his sixth 20-goal season. He’s looking to become just the ninth player in franchise history to have six or more 20-goal seasons with the team.
Rust has played some of the best hockey of his career against the San Jose Sharks. In 13 career games versus them, Rust has recorded eight goals, eight assists, 16 points and is plus-nine. Rust’s 1.23 points-per-game average versus the Sharks is his second-highest average versus any one team. Rust has 11 points (6G-5A) in his last six games against the Sharks.
Michael Bunting has been a force on Pittsburgh’s sixth-ranked power play this year. He leads the club with nine power-play goals, which is tied for sixth in the NHL. Bunting’s next power-play tally will make him just the seventh Penguin in the last 10 years to have 10-plus power-play goals in a season.
Kevin Hayes has picked up five points in 12 games (4G-1A) since returning to the lineup on a regular basis on Jan. 3. During that span, only Rickard Rakell has more goals on Pittsburgh.
Quick Hits
1) Sidney Crosby is riding an active seven-game point streak (2G-9A) against San Jose dating back to Jan. 2, 2022.
2) Erik Karlsson has 19 points (5G-14A) in 16 career games against his former team. He has points in 11 of his last 12 games versus San Jose (4G-13A).
3) In 12 career games against the Sharks, Michael Bunting has tallied eight points (2G-6A). He has recorded four assists in his last five games against them.
4) The Penguins rank sixth in the NHL in power-play percentage (26.9%), and have gone 5-for-12 (41.7%) through the first five games of their seven-game road trip.
5) The Penguins own an overall record of 399-90-49 when both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin record a point in a game.