Evgeni Malkin hits career milestone in second straight game, records 1,300th career point
TORONTO (KDKA) - For Saturday night in Toronto being just the Penguins' third game of the 2024-25 season, center Evgeni Malkin has recorded career milestones in two of those three games.
Despite a 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Malkin assisted on Rickard Rakell's third-period goal giving him 1,300 career points.
This makes him the third active player to reach the 1,300-point mark, trailing only Sidney Crosby who tops the list with 1,599, and Alex Ovechkin with 1,550.
Despite the milestone, Malkin took no time to celebrate, instead focusing on the team rather than the individual.
"When you lose, it's different, I'm not looking at my points, I want my team to win," he said following the game.
Earlier this week, Evgeni Malkin also recorded another milestone - 800 assists.
On a power play in the third period against the Detroit Red Wings, Malkin recorded the secondary assist on an Erik Karlsson goal.
Similarly, after the win in Detroit, it was about his teammates, not himself, when he recorded his 800th assist.
"For me, it's all about partners," he said. "I played with a lot of guys, probably most are retired but I'm still playing. I always have fun with anybody. It's a great milestone."
This season, the Penguins have multiple players on milestone watch.
Captain Sidney Crosby is now one point away from 1,600 and eight goals away from 600. He also trails Mario Lemieux by 124 points for the most points in the Penguins' history.
Defenseman Kris Letang also sits at 577 assists, just 23 away from 600.
Finally, defenseman Erik Karlsson is just 10 goals away from 200 career goals.
