Game Notes
Erik Karlsson’s 39 points (14G-25A) and Kris Letang’s 33 points (6G-27A) against the Sabres rank first and second, respectively, among active defensemen.
After his three-point performance in Boston on Thursday night (1G-2A), Sidney Crosby has eclipsed the 40-point mark for the 18th time in his career, a feat that only 24 players in NHL history have accomplished. He and Alex Ovechkin (18) are the only active players with 18 or more 40-point campaigns.
Drew O’Connor tied his single-game career high with two points on Thursday night (1G-1A), giving him five points (3G-2A) in his last six games. In doing so, he also tied his single-season career high in goals (5), and established a new career high in points (13) on the season.
Reilly Smith has 20 points (10G-10A) in 27 career games against the Sabres, which includes 11 points (6G-5A) in his last 11 games versus them.
Pittsburgh has been playing consistent hockey over the last month, picking up points in nine of its last 11 games (8-2-1). Since this stretch began on Dec. 12, only two teams have accumulated more points than the Penguins (SEA, WPG: 18).
The Penguins have points in seven of their last eight games (6-1-1) and are averaging 4.00 goals per game over this span. Since this stretch began on Dec. 18, the Penguins have scored three or more goals in all but one of the contests, and no team in the NHL has scored more goals than Pittsburgh’s 32.
Marcus Pettersson is set to play in his 400th career NHL game tonight. Pettersson made his NHL debut with the Anaheim Ducks on February 15, 2018, in a 3-2 win in Chicago against the Blackhawks. The 27-year-old Swedish blueliner has 117 career points (10G-107A) through 399 games. Drafted 38th overall in the 2014 NHL Draft, he will become the 24th player and just the fourth defenseman from his draft class to appear in 400 NHL games. Pettersson also has the third-highest career plus/minus (plus-69) of all players drafted in 2014 and is in the topthree on the Penguins in several categories this season. He ranks third in TOI/GM, averaging 22:34 for Pittsburgh this season, and is first in plus/minus at plus-18.
Erik Karlsson is tied for the team lead among Pittsburgh defensemen with 26 points (6G-20A) in 37 games. The Swedish blueliner has notched 787 points (184G-603A) in 957 career games, and is one point shy of surpassing fellow countrymen Borje Salming for sole possession of the 19th-most points in NHL history among defensemen, and second all-time among Swedish-born defensemen.
Jake Guentzel leads Pittsburgh in assists (25) and points (43), and ranks second in goals (18) behind teammate Sidney Crosby (22). Guentzel has eight points (4G-4A) over his last five games, which includes three multi-point efforts. Overall, his 10 multi-point games lead Pittsburgh.
Guentzel enters tonight’s game two goals shy of hitting the 20-goal plateau for the seventh-consecutive season. When he reaches this mark, he will become just the seventh player in franchise history to have seven or more 20-goal campaigns with Pittsburgh.
Kris Letang notched his third three-point effort in his last six games on Thursday night in Boston (3A), giving him 12 points (1G-11A) in his last six games. Since this stretch began on Dec. 23, no NHL defenseman has recorded more points, and Letang is second overall in league scoring.
Sidney Crosby enters tonight’s game with points in 20 of his last 25 games (13G-19A) versus Buffalo. He has recorded at least one point in 49 of 58 career games played against them, while his 82 points (28G-54A) are the most he’s tallied against any non-Metropolitan Division opponent. Crosby enters tonight’s game with the sixth-highest career points-per-game average versus the Sabres (min. 20 GP).
