Game Notes
Quick Hits
1) Today, Pittsburgh concludes its fifth set of back-to-back games. So far, the Penguins are 2-3-4 in back-to-backs (2-1-2 on the first night and 0-2-2 on the second night).
2) The Penguins enter today’s game ranked first in the NHL in power-play percentage (32.9%) and fifth in penalty kill success rate (84.3%).
3) Yesterday, Sidney Crosby notched two power-play points (1G-1A), making him the 12th player in NHL history to record 600 or more power-play points.
4) Sidney Crosby’s next even-strength goal will surpass Phil Esposito (448) for sole possession of the ninth-most even-strength goals in NHL history.
5) Goaltender Stuart Skinner is 2-0-0 with a 2.00 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage in two career games versus Utah. Only Darcy Kuemper (4), Sergei Bobrovsky (3) and Lukas Dostal (3) have more wins against the Mammoth in NHL history.
FRANCHISE ICON
Sidney Crosby enters tonight’s game riding a four-game point streak (1G-4A) and has points in seven of his last eight games (6G-5A). Crosby, who has notched 1,711 points (644G-1,077A) in his career, sits just two points shy of tying Mario Lemieux’s franchise record of 1,723 points.
When Crosby ties Lemieux, only two players in NHL history will have recorded more points with one franchise: Gordie Howe and Steve Yzerman.
The captain enters tonight’s game with six goals over his last eight games (6G-5A), and is tied for fourth in the NHL in goals.
HOME COOKIN’
Forward Bryan Rust recorded three points (1G-2A) yesterday against San Jose, giving him five points (2G-3A) over his last two games, both of which have come at home. This season, only Sidney Crosby has more points than Rust at PPG Paints Arena.
DECEMBER LEADERS
Forward Anthony Mantha notched a season-high three points (1G-2A) yesterday against San Jose, giving him six points (2G-4A) over his last six games. Since the calendar flipped to December, only three players on Pittsburgh have more points than him (Bryan Rust, Sidney Crosby, Erik Karlsson).
POINT PRODUCIN’
Defenseman Kris Letang enters tonight’s game one point shy of surpassing Hall-of-Famer Borje Salming for the 21st most points by a defenseman in NHL history.
PENS ACQUIRE SKINNER AND KULAK
On Friday, the Penguins acquired goaltender Stuart Skinner, defenseman Brett Kulak and the Edmonton Oilers 2029 second-round draft pick in exchange for goaltender Tristan Jarry and forward Sam Poulin.
Skinner, 27, has appeared in 23 games this season for the Oilers where he’s gone 11-8-4 with a 2.83 goals-against average and two shutouts. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound goaltender has spent his entire professional career with Edmonton, appearing in 197 career regular-season games going 109-62-18 with a 2.74 goals-against average, a .904 save percentage and nine shutouts. Skinner’s 109 regular-season wins rank fifth in Oilers franchise history while his nine shutouts are tied for fourth.
The native of Edmonton, Alberta also has 50 games of Stanley Cup Playoff experience, going 26-22 with a 2.88 goals-against average. Skinner most recently helped the Oilers reach back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals, and only eight active goaltenders have more postseason wins than his 26.
Kulak, 31, is a veteran of 611 NHL games split between Edmonton, Montreal and Calgary since 2014. The defenseman is coming off of a career year, where he tallied career highs across the board with seven goals, 18 assists and 25 points in 82 games in 2024-25. This season, he has recorded two assists through 31 games.
Throughout parts of 12 seasons in the league, the 6-foot-2, 192-pound defenseman has registered 28 goals, 99 assists and 127 points. Kulak has added three goals, 21 assists and 24 points through 98 career playoff games, including a combined 13 points (2G-11A) in 47 games over the past two years en route to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals.
The acquisition of Edmonton’s 2029 second-round draft pick gives Pittsburgh eight selections in the 2029 NHL Draft – their original seven selections plus the Oiler’s second-round pick.
