Evgeni Malkin entered his 19th NHL campaign this year knocking on the door of several individual career milestones.
The longtime Pittsburgh Penguins center achieved 800 career assists on Oct. 11 and two nights later, hit 1,300 points, becoming only the 34th and 37th respective player in league history to do so.
Both accomplishments came on the road.
Returning home to PPG Paints Arena on Wednesday for a game against the Buffalo Sabres, Malkin took the ice with 499 career goals.
With 16 minutes, 34 seconds remaining in the third period, Malkin made history, notching goal No. 500 to the wild applause of the crowd and his teammates alike.
“I’m glad fans really support me,” Malkin said after the Penguins battled back to win 6-5 in overtime. “I feel like it’s always a pleasure to play here. It’s a great city, lots of good fans here. Again, I’m excited tonight. I want to score tonight, I’m feeling great. … Everything’s perfect for me tonight.”
With the club maintaining pressure in the offensive zone at the end of a man-advantage, Malkin scored on a rebound off his own shot, beating Buffalo netminder Ukko-Pekka Luukonen.
EVGENI MALKIN GETS NUMBER 500 AND THE PENS CLEAR THE BENCH TO CELEBRATE ???????? pic.twitter.com/uaz16DghGG
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) October 17, 2024
From behind the cage, Sidney Crosby fed Malkin the puck, leading to a shot on goal in traffic.
Malkin was forced off his feet but got a clean whack at the loose puck, scoring the goal flat on his back.
The goal gave Pittsburgh a 4-3 lead.
Crosby recorded the only assist on the goal. Crosby has assisted on more Malkin goals than any other player, setting up 140 of them. Kris Letang assisted on 87, followed by Phil Kessel (58), Sergei Gonchar (39) and James Neal (38).
Malkin joins fellow franchise pillars Mario Lemieux and Crosby as the only lifetime Penguins players to reach the 500-goal plateau.
“We’ve shared a lot of milestones together and a lot of memories,” Crosby said. “To be able to add this one with a win and … the way he did it, that was a pretty awesome goal.”
The Penguins and Montreal Canadiens are the only teams to have three players score 500 goals for them. Montreal’s 500-goal scorers are Guy Lafleur, Jean Beliveau and Maurice Richard.
Malkin also becomes NHL player No. 48 to reach the 500.
