Game preview: 02/11/24 vs. Montreal Canadiens

Game notes

Erik Karlsson has 41 points (10G-31A) in 50 career games against the Canadiens. His 10 goals against them are tied with teammate Kris Letang for the most among all active blueliners.

In 21 games against his former team, Lars Eller has 16 points (9G-7A), including 14 points (8G-6A) in his last 15 games against them.

Matt Grzelcyk had an assist on Crosby's first goal on Thursday, extending his point streak to three games (3A), tying his previous career point streak of six.

Sidney Crosby has five points (2G-3A) in his last two games, which ranks first in the NHL during that span (October 29-present).

The Penguins have an overall record of 389-90-47 when both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin record a point in a game.

Karlsson received an assist on Thursday night against Anaheim. He passed Red Kelly and moved into sole possession of 17th place on the all-time NHL points list among defensemen.

Sidney Crosby powered the Penguins to victory on Thursday night after scoring the game-winning goal in the third period and then scoring a dramatic game-winning goal in overtime to give the team a 2-1 win. It was Crosby's 22nd career overtime total, which is second in NHL history behind Alex Ovechkin (26). The goal was Crosby's 46th overtime point of his career, the first in NHL history. Crosby is now in a six-way tie for 16th place on the NHL's all-time game-winning goals list. The other five players with 92 wins are Johnny Bucyk, Mark Messier, Mike Modano, Jeremy Roenick and Jeff Carter.

Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang have a combined 304 career goals after Rickard Rakell's goal in the first period on Tuesday. They are now tied with Los Angeles' Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty for the third-most goals scored by a forward-defense duo in NHL history.

Tonight will be defenseman Kris Letang's 1,100. Play a game in the regular season. Letang is the first Penguins defenseman to reach this milestone and just the sixth active blueliner to reach 1,100 games. When he takes the ice tonight, Letang will become only the 13th defenseman to play 1,100 games for one team. Letang has amassed 746 points (168G-578A) in his first 1,099 games, ranking 24th in NHL history among defensemen.

Sidney Crosby's three-assist night on Tuesday increases his career assist total to 1,013. He is now just three assists shy of tying Hall of Famer Joe Sakic for 13th most assists in NHL history. He also wants to tie Sakic for the sixth-most assists by a player with a single franchise in league history.

Crosby's two-goal game Thursday night was also his 474th multi-point effort. He surpassed Joe Sakic and tied for the eighth-most multi-point games in NHL history. Crosby has scored multiple points in consecutive games and is seeking his first three-game multiple-point streak since March 24-28. March 2024 (3GP, 2G–7A).

Sidney Crosby enters tonight's game tied with Luc Robitaille for the 13th most even-strength goals in NHL history after his two-goal night on Thursday.

Montreal native Kris Letang has 36 points (10G-26A) in 45 career games against his hometown team. Here at PPG Paints Arena, he has 19 points (6G-13A) in 21 games. Letang has the second-most points among all Quebec-born active players, but ranks first among Montreal-born skaters.

Captain Sidney Crosby (23G-41A) and assistant captain Evgeni Malkin (22G-42A) each scored 64 points in 50 career games against the Montreal Canadiens. Crosby enters tonight's game with points from 13 of his last 17 games against them (6G-18A). With an average of 1.28 points per game against Montreal, Crosby and Malkin rank fourth among active players and 11th in NHL history among players who have played at least 15 games against them.