GOALS GALORE
Pittsburgh’s offense has been firing on all cylinders to start the season. The team’s 46 rank second in the NHL, and the Penguins have the second-best power play in the league (32.3%).
POWER PLAY QUICK HITS
The Penguins have gone 10-for-31 on the power play this season, and the team’s 32.3% success rate is tied with the New Jersey Devils for second in the NHL.
- Only Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl (5) and Vegas’ Pavel Dorofeyev (5) have more power-play goals this season than Sidney Crosby (4).
- Evgeni Malkin’s seven power-play points are tied for 10th in the league.
- The Penguins are 5-1-1 when notching a power-play goal.
- Seven different players have scored on the man advantage for the Penguins. Only the Ottawa Senators (8), Minnesota Wild (8) and Dallas Stars (8) have more players with a power-play goal on their teams.
- Only the Columbus Blue Jackets (26) have received fewer power-play opportunities than Pittsburgh (31), but only five teams (Minnesota, 15; Ottawa, 13; Dallas, 13; Edmonton, 12; Vegas, 11) have scored more power-play goals than the Penguins (10).
- Pittsburgh has scored multiple man-advantage goals in a game three times this season (3-0-0).
MALK-A-MANIA
Evgeni Malkin continues to defy physics, logic and father time. After recording an assist on Saturday in Winnipeg, Malkin boosted his point total to a team-leading 18 (3G-15A) on the year. Malkin’s 18 points are tied for fourth in the NHL.
Malkin has picked up points in all but two games this season (11/13, 84.6%) and has recorded multiple points nearly half of his games played (6/13, 46.2%). His 15 assists are second in the NHL.
Malkin has made a habit of turning in big performances against the Toronto Maple Leafs over the course of his career. In 49 games, Malkin has 24 goals, 47 assists and 71 points. He has been held scoreless against Toronto only 12 times in his career, and has recorded three or more points 10 times. In the 20 games that he’s recorded multiple points versus the Maple Leafs, the Penguins are 14-5-1 and they are a perfect 10-0-0 when he scores three or more points. Malkin’s 1.45 points-per-game average is his highest against any team, and is the second highest against Toronto among all active players (min. 5 games).
Malkin’s 1.45 points-per-game average is tied for 14th in NHL history (min. 15 GP). With a point tomorrow, Malkin can surpass Mario Lemieux’s total for points against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
CHIPPING IN
Six rookies have dressed for the Penguins this season – Harrison Brunicke, Filip Hallander, Ben Kindel, Ville Koivunen, Owen Pickering and Arturs Silovs – and have played a big roll in the Penguins hot start. Hallander (1G-3A) leads Pittsburgh’s rookies in points while Kindel paces all of the Penguins’ first-year players in goals (3). Leaguewide, only three NHL rookies have more goals than Kindel. Overall, only the Montreal Canadiens have gotten more goals from their rookies skaters this season.
HOW SWEDE IT IS
Erik Karlsson has 10 assists (10A) over his last eight games dating back to Oct. 16. In that span, no NHL player has more assists than him. Karlsson ranks second in the NHL in assists among defensemen.
FRANCHISE STAPLE
Kris Letang enters this game one point from tying Hall-of-Famer Doug Wilson for the ninth-most points by a defenseman with one team in NHL history.
BLUE LINE BLITZ
Two members of the Penguins blue line, Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang, have put up solid numbers against the Maple Leafs in their careers. Karlsson leads all active defensemen with 11 goals, 35 assists and 46 points in 49 games against Toronto, while Letang’s 32 points (5G-27A) in 48 games ranks fourth among active blueliners.
JARRY CLOSING IN ON 300 GP
Goaltender Tristan Jarry enters tomorrow one game played shy of 300 in his career. Jarry, who has gone 157-98-31 with a 2.74 goals-against average, a .910 save percentage and 22 shutouts, is looking to become just the third goaltender in franchise history to reach 300 games with the team along with Marc-Andre Fleury (691) and Tom Barrasso (460).
Jarry’s 157 wins are the most in franchise history through 300 games, and he ranks seventh among all active goaltenders in wins through 300 games.
QUICK HITS
- Kris Letang has 14 points (3G-11A) in his last 20 games against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and 32 points (5G-27A) in 48 games against them total.
- Sidney Crosby is currently on a four-game point streak against Toronto (1G-5A) and has 73 points (30G-43A) in 56 career games against the Maple Leafs. He has 21 career multi-point games against them which is the second highest against an Atlantic Division opponent (Buffalo – 23). He has been held without a point in just seven of 28 games at Scotiabank Arena.
- Bryan Rust has five points (2G-3A) in his last two games against Toronto. In 20 career games, he has 18 points (6G-12A) versus the Maple Leafs.
- Pittsburgh’s penalty kill has allowed just one power-play goal against over its last five games (15-for-16, 93.8%).
- Erik Karlsson is tied for ninth in the NHL with eight takeaways.
