The Pittsburgh Penguins are heading into Saturday night’s game against the Ottawa Senators after achieving a couple of key milestones in their recent games, thanks to a strong performance on Thursday night.
A lot of this success can be credited to team captain Sidney Crosby, who played a big part in the Penguins’ 9-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. Crosby recorded three assists and passed the legendary Gordie Howe for fifth place in all-time assists by a player with one team. With 1,026 assists, Crosby is just seven away from Mario Lemieux, who holds fourth place.
This three-assist game was the 65th of Crosby’s career. The 37-year-old has scored eight goals and provided 22 assists this season. He has also been very effective against the Senators, with an average of 1.16 points per game.
In 49 games against Ottawa, Crosby has earned 57 points, including 19 goals and 38 assists. He has scored points in eight of the last ten meetings with the Senators, registering three goals and 11 assists. His 57 career points against Ottawa tie him with Jaromir Jagr for the most by a Penguins player against the Senators.
Crosby assisted on two of Bryan Rust’s three goals, helping Rust achieve his sixth career hat trick in a four-point night. Rust said, “Definitely one I’m going to remember… Some nights it feels good, and sometimes the puck just finds you, and that’s how it goes… We were on our toes and scored a lot of goals.”
Rust has 12 goals and eight assists in 24 games this season. Meanwhile, defenseman Kris Letang has been productive, collecting eight points (four goals and four assists) in the last six games.
The Penguins have scored 36 goals in their last eight games (6-2-0), though Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have combined for just one goal in that stretch.
When the Penguins and Senators face off in Ottawa on Saturday, there’s a good chance the game could go into overtime, as the past three matchups between the teams have ended in OT, with Ottawa winning all three. The Senators have also won the last four games against Pittsburgh and five of the last six dating back to the 2022-23 season.
Like the Penguins, the Senators have a star player on the right wing in Drake Batherson, who had a great week with three goals and an assist. Batherson recorded his second career hat trick in Ottawa’s 5-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday.
He became the first Senator to score a natural hat trick since captain Brady Tkachuk did so on December 11, 2021. Batherson has 12 goals and 20 assists in 29 games this season.
Fans threw hats onto the ice, and Ottawa coach Travis Green praised the tradition, saying, “Being a fan of the game, I love it… Being a coach, you’re trying to keep your team moving in the right direction and keep momentum going, but I think it’s awesome.”
At home, center Tim Stutzle has been performing well, with seven goals and 18 assists in 16 games this season. In Friday’s NHL game, Shane Pinto scored twice, and goalie Linus Ullmark made 32 saves in Ottawa’s 3-0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes, recording his second shutout of the season and the 10th of his career.
