- The NHL regular season is into its second week, and teams are starting to shake the rust off.
- Longtime Pittsburgh teammates Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin reached milestones in a 6-5 overtime win over Buffalo.
- The Colorado Avalanche are off to a slow start as they’re 0-4-0 after a 5-3 loss to Boston.
Let’s check in on the NHL, which rolls into its second week of the regular season. That means teams shouldn’t be that rusty, and the on-ice product will kick into another gear.
Two longtime teammates and stars on the Pittsburgh Penguins, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, hit career milestones on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, the Colorado Avalanche are behind the eight-ball early on, and one statistic shows they could be in trouble already.
Crosby Reaches 1,600 Points, Malkin Scores 500th Goal
It was a big Wednesday night in Pittsburgh at the PPG Paints Arena against the Buffalo Sabres. Sidney Crosby got the party started at 11:01 of the first period, when the Penguins’ captain was credited with an assist on Bryan Rust’s power-play goal. It was Crosby’s 1,600th point in the NHL, and he is 10th all-time in points now. Crosby is the fifth-fastest to reach that milestone, reaching it in 1,277 games.
Then it was Evgeni Malkin’s turn, as Crosby assisted on Malkin’s 500th goal at 3:26 of the third period. The Russian star is the 38th player in league history to get to 500 goals, joining his teammate in the 500 Club as Crosby has 593 goals. The Penguins went on to win the game over the Sabres by a 6-5 score in overtime. Who scored in the extra period? Who else but Crosby, on the power play, with Malkin on the assist.
The duo is synonymous with their time in Pittsburgh. Crosby was drafted first by the Penguins in 2005, while Malkin was drafted third in 2004, but he didn’t play for the Penguins until 2006. The dynamic duo has combined for 17 All-Star appearances, four Art Ross Trophy wins, three Conn Smythe Trophy wins, and three Stanley Cups wins.
Crosby, at 37, and Malkin, at 38, are still productive players who will be among daily NHL player props all season. While the Penguins might not be a popular pick at NHL betting sites, the team can still shake things up with Crosby and Malkin leading the way.
Bad Start for Avalanche is Starting to Snowball
Meanwhile, things aren’t going as well for Crosby’s fellow Nova Scotia native, Nathan McKinnon. The reigning Hart Memorial Trophy winner will be a staple of NHL goalscorer contests, although he has just one to start the season. However, offense isn’t the problem for McKinnon’s Colorado Avalanche. They can’t stop the other team from scoring.
The Avalanche suffered their fourth straight loss to start the season as they fell 5-3 at home to the Boston Bruins. Three of those losses have come at Ball Arena, where Colorado was 31-9-1 last season. The Avalanche have given up 25 goals in four games, including eight in their season opener in Las Vegas.
Following the game, Sportsnet Stats sent out a message on their X account that no team has ever won the Stanley Cup after starting the season 0-4-0. Goalie Alexandar Georgiev is 0-3-0 and was pulled in the Avalanche’s second game, a 6-4 loss to Columbus, after allowing three goals on nine shots. Georgiev has a goals-against average of 5.79, and has given up 17 goals on 85 shots for a save percentage of .800.
However, it’s not just the goalie’s fault. The Colorado defense has looked very shaky to start the season, and former Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar is -6 on the season, despite having a goal and seven assists. McKinnon is also -6, while Calum Ritchie has a team-worst -7. It’s not time to push the panic button yet, but the Avalanche have to right the ship quickly to prove the above tweet wrong later in the season.
