Despite preseason expectations that labelled the Pittsburgh Penguins as bottom-feeders in 2025-26, it's so far, so good for Sidney Crosby's club, who remain undefeated through two games.
After shutting out the Rangers in New York in their season opener on Tuesday, the Pens defeated the New York Islanders 4-3 at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday night, with Crosby and Evgeni Malkin combining for five points in the victory.
In the process, No. 87 continued climbing an all-time NHL list.
“Sidney Crosby scored his 626th career goal and surpassed Joe Sakic for the fifth most by one player with one franchise,” shared NHL Public Relations after Crosby scored a go-ahead tally on a second period powerplay. “Mario Lemieux sits in fourth.”
It's good company for the captain, who also managed an assist in the road win. That apple was his 1,063rd in the National Hockey League, tying him with Steve Yzerman for ninth all-time.
Crosby now has 1,689 career regular-season points, good for ninth all-time. He's just 11 back of another milestone of 1,700, and is closing in on Lemieux, who is eighth with 1,723 career points.
Penguins' Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin turning back the clock
Crosby and Malkin have both been excellent to start the season for the 2024-25 Penguins. Crosby managed two points on Thursday, but Malkin has been even more potent, with five assists through his first two games.
“It’s always nice when the team wins two games,” the Russian said afterwards, per NHL.com's Wes Crosby. “Not a pretty game tonight. I think we can play better, but we love to win.”
The veterans are leading the way for the Penguins, who are 2-0 and leading the Eastern Conference. It's obviously a small sample size, but extremely encouraging for a franchise that really had no expectations whatsoever coming into the campaign.
Along with the two all-time greats, Pittsburgh has also been getting contributions from the young guys. Harrison Brunicke, 19, scored his first NHL goal in the second period, assisted by 25-year-old Filip Hallander. It was the first career points for both players, and Brunicke became the first ever South Africa-born player to score in the NHL.
“What a game. What a game to be part of,” Brunicke said, per Crosby. “We battled right to the wire. Yeah, feeling a lot of emotion again. It’s pretty cool to see that first one go in. But I’m just thinking about an overall team win. It’s great. And we’re 2-0 right now. Keep it rolling.”
That's exactly what the Penguins will look to do on Saturday night in a packed NHL slate. With all 32 teams in action, Pittsburgh will look to stay undefeated in a rematch against the Rangers, this time on home ice.
Puck is set to drop at PPG Paints Arena just past 7:00 p.m. ET between the two Metropolitan Division rivals.
