Game Preview: 12.12.24 at Montreal Canadiens
Erik Karlsson has 42 points (10G-32A) in 51 career games versus the Canadiens. His 10 goals versus them are tied with teammate Kris Letang for the most among all active blueliners.
Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic is 3-1-1 with a 1.74 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage in six career games against Montreal. His .947 save percentage is his second highest versus one team behind Vegas (.979 SV%).
Rickard Rakell has 14 points (6G-8A) in 19 career games versus Montreal. He has seven points (2G-5A) in his last six games against them.
Forward Kevin Hayes ranks sixth in the NHL in faceoff percentage at 59.8% (min. 90 attempts).
The Penguins have 19 different skaters with a goal this season. Since November 27, the Penguins are 5-2-0 and they rank third in goals. The team also ranks fourth in penalty kill percentage (88.2%) in that span.
* Montreal native Kris Letang has picked up 37 points (10G-27A) in 46 career games against his hometown team. Here at Bell Centre, Letang has 17 points (4G-13A) in 24 games. Among all active players born in Quebec, Letang has the second-most points, but is first among Montreal-born skaters.
Over the last five games, the defenseman is tied for the team lead in points with six (3G-3A). Since Nov. 30, his six points are tied for third among all NHL blueliners.
Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang have combined on 305 goals in their careers. They are one goal shy of tying Boston’s Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr for the second-most goals combined on by a forward-defenseman duo in NHL history.
Sidney Crosby enters tonight’s game one multi-point performance back of tying Steve Yzerman (477) for seventh place on the NHL’s all-time multi-point games list. The captain is also one even-strength goal shy of tying Teemu Selanne for the 12th most even- strength goals in history.
Evgeni Malkin enters this contest just one even-strength goal shy of surpassing Jaromir Jagr for sole possession of third place on the Penguins all-time even-strength goals list.
Sidney Crosby (25G-41A) and Evgeni Malkin (22G-42A) have recorded 66 and 64 points, respectively, in 51 career games against the Montreal Canadiens. Crosby enters tonight’s game with points in 14 of his last 18 games versus them (8G-18A). Crosby’s 1.29 points-per-game average against Montreal is third among active players and is tied for 10th in NHL history among players who have played at least 15 games against them.
* Forward Michael Bunting has been red hot for Pittsburgh after recording just one point in his first 12 games. Since his first goal of the season in game no. 13 on November 5 against the New York Islanders, he has registered 12 points (7G-5A) in 17 games. His seven goals in that span are the most on the Penguins, and only Sidney Crosby has notched more points on the team since Nov. 5.
Bunting is riding an active three-game point streak (2G-1A) which is tied for his longest such streak of the season. With a point tonight, he would have his first four-game point streak since Apr. 11-17 (1G-5A).
* Forward Blake Lizotte has been one of Pittsburgh’s most consistent players over the past few weeks. He has six points (3G-3A) over his past five games, which is tied for first on Pittsburgh with Kris Letang (3G-3A) and Michael Bunting (3G-3A). Overall, Lizotte has the fourth-highest points-per-game average on the Penguins this season.
Pittsburgh has points in 10 of 14 games when Lizotte is in the lineup (8-4-2).
