Game Preview: 03.26.26 vs. Ottawa Senators

The Penguins are taking a quick trip to take on the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM ET. 

This game will be available to watch on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Fans can listen to the game on 105.9 The X and on the Penguins app.

Team Records: PIT (35-20-16), OTT (38-24-9)

Pittsburgh enters tonight's game with points in 16 of its last 23 games versus Ottawa (10-7-6) dating back to March 23, 2017. Going back further, the Penguins have points in 28 of their last 37 games against the Senators (20-9-8) dating back to January 27, 2013. Four of the last five games between Pittsburgh and Ottawa at Canadian Tire Centre have gone to overtime.

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Game Notes

Quick Hits

Justin Brazeau has four points (2G-2A) in five career games against Ottawa and he’s a plus-3 against them.

Rickard Rakell has points in nine of his last 10 games (4G-7A). 

Captain Sidney Crosby enters tonight's on a four-game point streak (1G-4A) since returning from injury. 

Erik Karlsson has seven assists in 15 career games when playing the Senators, his former team. 

Stuart Skinner has a 6-1-0 record in seven games played against Ottawa and he has a .903 save percentage and 2.71 goals against average.

A-MUSE-ING

Head Coach Dan Muse has the Penguins playing some of the most consistent hockey in the league in his first season in the NHL. Under Muse’s guidance, the Penguins have already surpassed last season's win total through 71 games, and the team has seen massive year-over-year improvement in multiple categories.

CROSBY 1,100

Sidney Crosby enters tonight's game two assists shy of becoming the eighth player in NHL history to record 1,100 career assists joining Wayne Gretzky (1,963), Ron Francis (1,249), Mark Messier (1,193), Ray Bourque (1,169), Jaromir Jagr (1,155), Paul Coffey (1,135) and Joe Thornton (1,109). Among the group, Crosby is set to accomplish this feat in the third-fewest games in NHL history.

GOALS GALORE

Forward Egor Chinakhov found the back of the net for the third-straight game on Tuesday night, extending his goal streak to three games (3G-1A). The goal was Chinakhov’s 17th of the season, establishing a new single-season career high.

SWEDE ASSISTS

Erik Karlsson tallied two goals and an assist on Wednesday against Carolina and now has nine assists in the last nine games overall. With his next assist, he will surpass Daniel Alfredsson for fifth most all-time by a Swedish-born player.

RUSTY STREAK

Bryan Rust enters tonight's game riding a career-long eight-game point streak (5G-7A) and has points in 13 of his last 14 games played (7G-11A) dating back to Feb. 28. He currently has the second longest active point streak in the NHL.

MANTHA’S CAREER YEAR

Forward Anthony Mantha enters tonight's game with points in six of his last nine games (5G-3A) and has set career highs across the board in goals (26), assists (27) and points (53). During the Sidney Crosby Era (2005-Present), only four players on Pittsburgh have scored more goals than Mantha in their first season with the team.

SILKY SWEDE

Erik Karlsson tallied two goals on Saturday against the Jets and now has 19 points (7G-12A) in the last 14 games. He leads all defensemen in the NHL in points in that span.

MALKIN 1,400

Forward Evgeni Malkin enters tonight's game two points shy of 1,400 in his career. Malkin is looking to join Sidney Crosby (1,751) and Mario Lemieux (1,743) as the only players in franchise history to notch 1,400 points with the team, and he would also become just the 23rd player in NHL history to accomplish this feat.

Malkin would also become just the second Russian-born player in NHL history to accumulate 1,400 points along with Washington’s Alex Ovechkin.

DIRTY THIRTY

Sidney Crosby comes into tonight's game two goals shy of reaching the 30-goal mark for the 14th time in his career and the fifth-consecutive season. Only six players in NHL history have more 30-goal seasons than him currently and only Alex Ovechkin has more among active players (19).

MULTI-POINT MAYHEM

Sidney Crosby recorded a multi-point game in his return from injury (1G-1A) on Wednesday and is now one such instance shy of surpassing both Mark Messier and Marcel Dionne for third most multi-point games in NHL history.

SUPER ROOKIE

Ben Kindel enters tonight's game with 12 points (9G-3A) over his last 21 games. Kindel is up to 17 goals on the season, which ranks fourth among NHL rookies. Four of his 17 goals have been game-winning tallies, and he’s one game-winning goal shy of the NHL single-season record for an 18 year old

KRIS KROSSED

Defenseman Kris Letang has played some of his best hockey against the Ottawa Senators. In 45 career games versus them, Letang has recorded seven goals, 20 assists, 27 points and is a plus-14. His 27 points rank tied for second among active defensemen.