Pittsburgh Penguins: Remembering Evgeni Malkin’s best moments

By picking up his 1,000th career point, Evgeni Malkin has cemented his spot among the greatest to ever play for the Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins have been incredibly fortunate to have both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on their roster over the last 13 years. This duo has combined to win three Stanley Cups, three Conn Smythe Trophies, and four scoring titles. Following Malkin’s two assists against the Washington Capitals last night, both members of this dynamic duo are in the 1,000 point club.

From his parents becoming local icons, to his hilarious quotes, and great personality, Malkin has created a lasting impact here in Pittsburgh. He is the 88th player in NHL history (and fourth Penguin) to reach 1,000 points. It is an incredible achievement. Here is a look at eleven of the most memorable on-ice moments from Malkin’s career.

October 24, 2006

Crosby finds with a terrific pass as Malkin enters the offensive zone. Malkin chipped the puck ahead while plowing through Colin White’s numerous slashes and crosschecks to slide the biscuit past a stretched out Martin Brodeur.

May 9, 2008

After getting charged on an unnecessary hit by Mike Richards, it took Malkin a bit to get back on his feet. When he did, fellow countrymen Sergei Gonchar found Malkin with a stretch pass. Geno made his second shot attempt on this shift count, blasting a slapper right past Flyers netminder Marty Biron.

May 21, 2009

This is my favorite Malkin goal of all-time. He was just unstoppable during the entirety of the Penguins run to the Stanley Cup. Anyways, Malkin beats current Penguins teammate Matt Cullen on the face-off and just does it all himself, scoring on an incredible no-look backhander. Joe Benanti’s goal-call says it all.

Combining the 2008-09 regular and postseason, Malkin produced an absurd 149 points. This is not talked about enough. Malkin’s 36 postseason points in 2009 are the seventh-highest total ever scored in a single NHL postseason.

Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Paul Coffey are the only three players in NHL history to produce more than Malkin’s 36 points in a single playoff year. Yes, you read that right. Malkin’s 08-09 season was arguably the best of the salary cap era. Deservingly so, Malkin went on to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff MVP.

November 15, 2011

Malkin forces a Kyle Quincey turnover, dances Gabriel Landeskog into next week and then avoids the poke check attempt by Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov to score a beauty in a 6-3 Penguins win.

February 25, 2012

Throughout his career, Malkin has always torched the Tampa Bay Lightning. Per Hockey-Reference, he has 23 goals in 38 career games against Tampa. On this day, he scored 3 of those 23. As you’ll see in the clip below, Malkin galloped his way through the Bolts five-man unit in route to an 8-1 Penguins victory.

November 17, 2015

Phil Kessel finds Malkin coming late into the play and feeds him the puck. After receiving Kessel’s pass, Malkin goes between the legs, turns it to his forehand, and fends off two Wild defenders. As you will see in the next two clips, this was not Mikael Granlund’s best night.

November 17, 2015

As the great Mike Lange would say, Malkin displayed more patience than Mercy Hospital in this clip. Malkin played keep away with a trio of Wild forwards to conclude the second period.

November 29, 2015

As the Mike Johnston era was winding down, Malkin was the only core member of the Penguins who had a consistent offensive pulse. He often kept the Penguins games and willed them to victory. On this night, Malkin picked the pocket of Oscar Klefbom, began galloping, then performed a spin-o-rama around Oilers defenseman Mark Fayne.

April 28, 2016

Over the years, Chris Kunitz always had a knack for creating space and finding Crosby and Malkin in stride with passes. This is exactly what happened in Game 1 against the Capitals. Kunitz drew the attention of two defenders and found Malkin streaking into the slot, as he roofs a backhander up and over the shoulder of Braden Holtby

May 29, 2017

After weaving his way into the offensive zone, Trevor Daley placed the puck right into Malkin’s wheelhouse, allowing him to one-time the biscuit past Pekka Rinne. While this was not the prettiest goal on this list, it was the first goal of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final, and the first of a three-goal first period by the Penguins. Pittsburgh would go nearly 39 minutes without registering a shot on goal in this game, so jumping out to an early lead was crucial in a 5-3 Penguins victory.

April 11, 2018

Malkin against the Flyers is always great theater. On the opening night of the 2018 Playoffs, Geno Machino was ready to go. So ready, that he carried the mail coast to coast, and through the 3 Flyers defenders (including an uninspired Claude Giroux)  before elevating a backhander past the blocker of Brian Elliott.

Malkin has been one (and still is) of the most exciting players in the league. Penguins fans are spoiled to be able to watch Crosby and Malkin perform on a nightly basis. Here’s to hoping for another 1,000 points for the Penguins Russian superstar.

Thanks for reading!