"Recap of NHL Action: Evgeni Malkin and Penguins Make History"
Evgeni Malkin scored his 500th career goal and Sidney Crosby netted his 1,600th career point, including the overtime winner, as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Buffalo Sabres 6-5 on Wednesday.
Malkin joined an elite group of players as the 48th in NHL history to reach 500 goals. He is only the second player from Russia, alongside Alex Ovechkin, and the third in franchise history, joining Crosby and Mario Lemieux. Crosby also reached a milestone, becoming the 10th player to reach 1,600 points.
Malkin, who currently leads the NHL in assists with nine, recorded three more in this game. Crosby also had a strong performance with one goal and two assists. Drew O'Connor and Bryan Rust each contributed a goal and an assist, while Jesse Puljujarvi and Rickard Rakell also scored. Joel Blomqvist stepped in for Triston Jarry and made 26 saves after Jarry struggled early in the game.
The Sabres put up a fight with JJ Peterka scoring twice after missing two games due to a concussion. Tage Thompson, Jordan Greenway, and Ryan McLeod also scored, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Penguins. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 37 saves for Buffalo.
In other NHL action, the Toronto Maple Leafs dominated the Los Angeles Kings with a 6-2 victory. Bobby McMann scored two goals in the first period, while Auston Matthews had a goal and two assists. William Nylander, Morgan Rielly, and John Tavares also scored for the Leafs. Anthony Stolarz made 32 saves for Toronto.
The Boston Bruins defeated the Colorado Avalanche 5-3 in Denver. David Pastrnak and Hampus Lindholm scored 13 seconds apart in the second period to secure the win for the Bruins. Cole Koepke, Charlie Coyle, and John Beecher also scored for Boston. Joonas Korpisalo made 22 saves for the Bruins.
In a close game, the Anaheim Ducks came out on top with a 5-4 overtime victory against the Utah Hockey Club. Leo Carlsson scored the game-winning goal just 54 seconds into overtime. Pavel Mintyukov scored two goals for the Ducks, while Troy Terry and Robby Fabbri also found the back of the net. Lukas Dostal made 26 saves for Anaheim.
Michael Kesselring and Jack McBain each had a goal and an assist for Utah, with Barrett Hayton and Nick Schmaltz also scoring. Connor Ingram made 29 saves for the Utah Hockey Club.
