Game Notes
Kris Letang has recorded a point in seven of his last nine games against Minnesota (3G-6A) and has 18 points (4G-14A) in 22 career games versus them.
Evgeni Malkin has had a hot hand against the Wild in his career with 11 goals and 15 assists in 20 career games played against them. He’s scored the game- winning goal in two of his last six games against Minnesota.
Sidney Crosby’s next game-winning goal will move him into a six-way tie for 16th place on the NHL’s all-time game-winning goals list. The five players with 92 game-winners are Johnny Bucyk, Mark Messier, Mike Modano, Jeremy Roenick, and Jeff Carter.
Sidney Crosby has two goals on 17 shots (11.8%) in six career games versus former teammate Marc-Andre Fleury. Evgeni Malkin has two goals on 19 shots (10.5%) in six games against Fleury.
The Penguins own an overall record of 389-90-47 when both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin record a point in a game.
Pittsburgh enters tonight’s game with points in each of its last six home games versus the Wild (5-0-1) dating back to Jan. 25, 2018. In that span, the Penguins have scored four or more goals in five of the six games and have outscored the Wild by a 27-15 margin. The Penguins’ six-game home point streak against Minnesota is their fourth-longest active home point streak versus one team.
Evgeni Malkin has been one of the hottest Penguins out of the gate, accumulating a team-high 14 points (3G-11A) in 10 games. Malkin has recorded multi-point efforts in five games this season, and three players have more multi-point games than Malkin. Malkin’s 14 points are tied for the second-most points in NHL history by a player through their first 10 games in their 38+ year-old season in NHL history.
Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang have combined on 303 goals in their careers, which is one such effort shy of tying Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty for the third-most goals combined on by a forward-defenseman duo in NHL history.
From a production standpoint on a per-game basis, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have been two of the best players against the Minnesota Wild. Each player ranks in the top-five in points-per-game average against Minnesota in NHL history (min. 10 GP).
Crosby has 16 points (7G-9A) in his last eight games against the Wild, and has 11 multi-point efforts in 24 career games against them. Of those 11 multi-point games, six of them were three-point nights or better.
Pittsburgh defenseman Erik Karlsson has notched nine goals, 26 assists and 35 points in 29 career games against the Wild. Only Roman Josi (16) and Jakob Chychrun (10) have scored more goals against Minnesota among defensemen in NHL history, and Karlsson’s 1.21 points-per-game average against them is the highest in league history among blueliners (min. 10 GP).
Anthony Beauvillier tallied his third goal of the season in a multi-point effort (1G-1A) on Saturday night in Vancouver, and only Lars Eller (4) and Rickard Rakell (4) have more goals on the Penguins this season than him. Beauvillier notched his third goal in his 10th game, which is the third-fewest games he’s required to reach three goals.
Sidney Crosby enters tonight’s game two even-strength goals shy of tying Luc Robitaille for the 13th-most even-strength goals in NHL history.
Rickard Rakell has consistently found the back of the net against the Minnesota Wild. In 32 career games, Rakell has recorded 11 goals, six assists and 16 points. There are only two teams that Rakell has tallied more goals against than the Wild (SJS, 16; EDM, 12).
Minnesota goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury will be between the pipes for the Wild tonight at PPG Paints Arena for what is likely to be his final game in Pittsburgh. The three-time Stanley Cup Champion with Pittsburgh (2009, ’16, ’17) spent the first 13 years of his career in black and gold from 2003-17, appearing in 691 games with a 375-216-68 record, 2.58 goals-against average, a .912 save percentage and 44 shutouts. He ranks in the top-2 all-time in franchise history in multiple categories (min. 25 GP).
Fleury made his NHL debut with the Penguins as an 18-year-old on Oct. 10, 2003, turning aside 46 of 48 shots in a 3-0 loss to Los Angeles. Just one week later, he became the sixth-youngest goaltender in NHL history to record their first NHL win at 18 years and 324 days when the Penguins beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-3, on Oct. 18, 2003.
