Game Notes
Sidney Crosby (582) enters tonight’s game one goal shy of tying Wayne Gretzky (583) for the seventh-most goals with a single franchise in NHL history.
Crosby (90 points) is one point shy of tying Mark Messier (91 points) for the seventh-most points versus Washington in NHL history.
On Tuesday, Penguins Captain Sidney Crosby appeared in his 1,250th regularseason game. Crosby, who has amassed 582 goals, assists, and 1,565 points, has the sixth-most points through their first 1,250 games played in NHL history.
The 2022.23 season marks the 19th season that generational talents Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin have faced off. The two have taken part in 67 head-to-head matchups, where Crosby and the Penguins have gone 39-24-4 against Ovechkin and the Capitals.
Not only is the Crosby/Ovechkin rivalry one of the NHL’s best, but it’s also the league’s longest-standing rivalry. Crosby and Ovechkin are the only two players in the NHL to play for the same team since the beginning of the 2005.06 season.
The two have combined to win four Stanley Cups, five Hart trophies (regular-season MVP), three Art Ross trophies (most points), 11 Rocket Richard trophies (most goals), three Conn Smythe awards (playoff MVP), and six Ted Lindsay awards (most outstanding player).
Crosby has consistently produced points throughout his career against the Capitals. Despite not playing in the same division as Washington until 2013.14, Crosby ranks first in points versus the Capitals among all active players.
The Penguins own an overall record of 382-87-45 when both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin record a point in a game.
Malkin scored a goal and an assist against Columbus on Tuesday to record his 342nd career multi-point game. Among active players, Malkin has the third-most multi-point games.
Malkin has goals in back-to-back games (2G-1A) and points in six of his last eight games (2G-5A).
Tonight, forward Rickard Rakell is set to appear in his 700th NHL game. Rakell, who was drafted in the first round (30th overall) in the 2011 NHL Draft, ranks in the top-15 among his draft class in multiple categories: Goals (195) - 10th, Assists (244) - 14th, Points (439) - 14th, PTS/GM (.63) - T-11th, PPG (48) - 10th, OTG (7) - T-6th, GWG (31) - T-9th.
Rakell has notched 12 points (4G-8A) in 18 career games against Washington, and has an active three-game point streak versus them (1G-3A).
The Penguins have power-play goals in five of their last seven games, going 7-for-24 (29.2%) in that stretch.
The Penguins enter tonight’s game with points in four-consecutive home games (3-0-1) and have points in nine of their last 11 home games overall (6-2-3).
Ryan Graves recorded his second multi-point game of the season (2A), and 17th such game of his career, on Tuesday night, giving him three points (3A) over his last four games played. In doing so, Graves hit the 10-assist plateau for the fifth-straight season.
Jeff Carter recorded his team-leading fourth game-winning goal on Tuesday night. It marked the 92nd game-winning goal of his career which ranks second among active players (Alex Ovechkin, 126) and is tied for 16th in NHL history.
