PITTSBURGH (AP) — Evgeni Malkin became the 48th player in NHL history to score 500 career goals in the third period against the Buffalo Sabres.
Sidney Crosby, from behind the net, sent a between-the-legs pass in front to Malkin, who was sitting on the ice when he flipped the puck past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. The entire bench emptied to congratulate Malkin after he scored and the hometown crowd gave him a standing ovation.
Earlier in the game, Crosby became the 10th player in NHL history to record 1,600 regular-season points in a career.
Malkin, who has the third-most goals in Penguins’ history with 500 in 1,150 games, is the 20th player in NHL history to score 500 goals with one team. The Penguins selected the 38-year-old Malkin No. 2 overall in the 2004 NHL Draft.
He joined Crosby (592), Washington’s Alex Ovechkin (853) and Nashville’s Steven Stamkos (555) as the only active players with 500 goals. Stamkos achieved it with Tampa Bay. Malkin also joins Ovechkin as the only Russian-born players in NHL history to reach the mark.
Pittsburgh is the second team in NHL history, behind Montreal, with three 500-goal scorers.
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Dan Scifo, The Associated Press