1,200 Points and Counting for Evgeni Malkin

At the start of the season, the talk surrounding Evgeni Malkin was that he looked hungry.

The 36-year-old superstar was finally healthy after undergoing surgery in the summer of 2021 to repair a knee injury he'd initially sustained that March. After missing half of the following year, Malkin still finished with 20 goals and 42 points in 41 games, but it had been a tough situation jumping onto a moving train.
So, after coming in with a new contract following a productive summer of training, Malkin was adamant that he wanted to show his best.
"My knee is stronger; my body is stronger and this year is very important for me. I know that," he said. "I know I'm not young anymore, but I have more experience. I have had a great career, but I'm not done."
Far from it. Malkin reached yet another career milestone in Friday in Anaheim, recording his 1,200th point in Pittsburgh's 6-3 win. He now has 463 goals and 737 assists in 1,032 NHL games, all with the Penguins.
"I don't want to say it's just a number… it's huge," Malkin said. "Every year, I try to play my best. It's a big number, I think, and I try to keep going."
Malkin entered the game two points shy, getting one closer when he set up P.O Joseph for the second of his two goals on the night. Malkin then got a pass over to linemate Bryan Rust, who converted a beautiful sequence on the backhand … then fished the milestone puck out of the net.
"Geno best," Rust chimed in with a grin as Malkin spoke to the media. After the game, many of Malkin's teammates posted about the accomplishment on social media, echoing that same sentiment.

He is just the third player in franchise history to accomplish this feat, joining Mario Lemieux (1,723) and Sidney Crosby (1,471). Malkin is also the fourth active player in the league to reach 1,200 career points behind Crosby, Alex Ovechkin (1,464) and Patrick Kane (1,214), and 51st all-time to reach the milestone.
"I think it just shows a lot of consistency," Crosby said. "It's a big number. To get to it, you've got to put up points every year and be consistent. It reflects that. I think it just shows the player that he's been over the years. He's still producing at a high rate, even at his age."
And this season in particular, 'consistent' is another word that Mike Sullivan has used a lot to describe Malkin's play. He has 19 goals and 51 points in 52 games while being a constant force centering Pittsburgh's other top line, mostly playing with a combination of Jason Zucker, Rust and Rickard Rakell.
"I think Geno has quietly been one of our more consistent players. He brings it every night," Sullivan said. "He's playing the game with a lot of drive. I've always said this - when Geno's at his best, when he's playing well, the puck seems to follow him. That's what I felt like tonight. He had the puck an awful lot when he was on the ice.
"He's such a dominant player (with) the way he protects pucks, his vision, his offensive instincts… I think he's playing extremely hard. He's not a perfect player by any stretch, but he's an elite player. He still has the ability to dominate games. That's what I see."
Crosby mentioned that Malkin could easily have more points at this stage of his career if it weren't for the long-term injuries he's dealt with. And while Malkin also acknowledged the time he's missed, both with this most recent procedure and the other major knee surgery he had in 2011, he isn't focusing on the what if's. He's focusing on the here and now.
"1,200 is a good number. Life is good," he said. "I don't want to think about oh, how much points I make without injuries. I play for a great team. still three more years. Maybe when I retire, I have 1,500 points. It's a good number, too. I'm okay."