When Evgeni Malkin drilled home a power-play goal in the second period of the Pittsburgh Penguins‘ season-opening win, he reached a rare milestone.
It was his 100th point against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Per Adam Kimelman of NHL.com, “Malkin became the sixth player with 100 career points against the Flyers. The others: Crosby (140), Mario Lemieux (124), Jaromir Jagr (120), Bryan Trottier (117), and Wayne Gretzky (100). It also was his 534th goal, passing Frank Mahovlich for 36th all-time.”
That’s an absurd (in a good way) concentration of Penguins legends on one specific leaderboard. There is no other way to put it, with names like Lemieux, Jagr, Trottier (who played his twilight years with the Penguins), and Crosby included.
Now, it’s all about seeing how close he can get to these legends.
Penguins Have Tortured The Flyers For Generations
The Lemieux/Jagr eras have overlap, but they’re also distinct. Lemieux kicked things off in 1984-85, becoming an NHL icon before Jagr joined him in 1990-91. The duo (plus Trottier) helped win Pittsburgh its first two Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992 while Philadelphia’s championship drought passed its decade-and-a-half mark.
Jagr kept up his high-octane play against Philadelphia throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s before leaving the Penguins following the 2000-01 season. Ironically, Jagr would play 73 games for the Flyers in the 2011-12 season at age 39, putting up 54 points, 19 goals, and 35 assists.
Then came the current Crosby/Malkin era. While Crosby has been the face of the Penguins since 2005, Malkin has nonetheless transformed into a star. His 100 points vs. Pittsburgh’s biggest rival and 534 goals and counting further drive that point home.
Evgeni Malkin Was Part Of More History In Win Over The Flyers
Kimelman also noted that “Malkin, Crosby, and Kris Letang won their 494th game together, passing Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski and Marc-Edouard Vlasic for the most regular-season wins by a trio of teammates.”
As if Malkin’s milestone-reaching night couldn’t have gotten sweeter. Along with Marc-Andre Fleury, when fans look at the first 25+ years of Penguins hockey in the 21st century, Malkin, Crosby, and Letang will be among the first names that come to mind.
With another full season to play, the trio may not be finished setting milestones just yet — both against the Flyers and in adding to their general NHL stats.
Penguins Couldn’t Have Asked For A Better Way To Set The Tone
Combine Malkin’s 100th point against Philadelphia, his 534th goal holding significance, joining Crosby and Letang as the winningest regular-season trio, and goaltender Arturs Silovs pulling off an amazing feat, things are looking up for the Penguins in 2026-27.
Add to the fact that the Penguins are unearthing younger talent from within and outside the organization, and there is a good chance they will keep this train on the right set of tracks even when Malkin, Crosby, and Letang decide to hang up the skates sometime in the future.
For now, fans can enjoy this dominant season-opening win and the amazing milestones Malkin reached on Wednesday night. There was no better way to ring in the new season in a more dominant fashion.
Evgeni Malkin Joins Sidney Crosby, Mario Lemieux in Rare NHL Company