When the Penguins made the decision to keep their veteran core together, they all but ensured a number of career milestones would be reached by Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang over the next few years.
The first such milestone of this season arrived Thursday night when Malkin recorded the 800th assist of his 19-year career in a 6-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.
Malkin came into the game with 798 career assists. In the second period, he set up linemate Drew O’Connor for a goal. In the third period, he recorded the second assist on Erik Karlsson’s power-play goal to reach the milestone.
“For me, it’s all about partners,” Malkin said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show. “I played with lots of guys. Probably most guys, they retired, but I’m still playing. I always have fun with anybody. We always have (a) great team here. We sign amazing players. I play with Sid (on the) power play. Probably I give him most assists in my life. But again, it’s a great milestone for me.”
"It's a great milestone for me. I need more, probably, a little bit."
Never change, Geno ???? pic.twitter.com/f51pLEplj5
— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) October 11, 2024
Malkin became the third active player to reach 800 career assists and all three were present on the Little Caeasars Arena ice Thursday. Crosby leads active players with 1,006 assists. Detroit’s Patrick Kane has 813.
Malkin became the 34th player in NHL history to reach the milestone.
