In terms of team accomplishments, the Pittsburgh Penguins have not produced much worth celebrating so far this season.
However, their franchise icons achieving individual accolades has been a totally different story.
Perhaps the most memorable moment of the season to date was Evgeni Malkin scoring his 500th career goal in an eventful 6-5 overtime home win against the Buffalo Sabres back on Oct. 16.
Malkin put the puck past Sabres netminder Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen while sprawled out on his back, with the assist coming from longtime teammate Sidney Crosby.
The Penguins honored Malkin with a pregame ceremony Wednesday ahead of puck drop vs. the Detroit Red Wings at PPG Paints Arena.
Former teammates such as Marc-Andre Fleury, Ryan Whitney, Mark Recchi, Patric Hornqvist as well as longtime adversary Alexander Ovechkin extended their congratulations to Malkin.
Inspiring his teammates, family, and competitors every step of the way.
Congratulations on 500 NHL goals, Geno! pic.twitter.com/SukKdmGxEX
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 14, 2024
Malkin joins Ovechkin as only the second Russian-born player to reach 500 goals and is the 48th player in NHL history to hit the milestone.
This year, the 38-year-old Malkin has a team-leading 18 points (five goals, 13 assists).
In Year 19 with the Penguins, Malkin’s 1,314 points (503 goals, 811 assists) rank third all-time in Pittsburgh franchise history, trailing only Crosby (1,612) and Mario Lemieux (1,723).
