Evgeni Malkin (71) became the 48th player in NHL history to score 500 goals with his marker in the third period on Wednesday in Pittsburgh. Malkin then helped set up Sidney Crosby, left, for the game-winner in overtime. Gene Puskar | AP photo PITTSBURGH — Sidney Crosby scored a power-play goal at 1:38 of overtime and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied to beat the Buffalo Sabres 6-5 on Wednesday night.
Evgeni Malkin became the 48th player in NHL history to score 500 career goals and Crosby became the 10th player in NHL history to reach 1,600 regular-season points in a career. Crosby, from behind the net, sent a between-the-legs pass in front to Malkin, who was sitting on the ice when he scored his goal.
Malkin, who has the third-most goals in Penguins’ history with 500 in 1,150 games, is the 20th player in NHL history to score 500 goals with one team. The Penguins selected the 38-year-old Malkin No. 2 overall in the 2004 NHL Draft.
He joined Crosby (592), Washington’s Alex Ovechkin (853) and Nashville’s Steven Stamkos (555) as the only active players with 500 goals. Stamkos achieved it with Tampa Bay. Malkin also joins Ovechkin as the only Russian-born players in NHL history to reach the mark.
Pittsburgh is the second team in NHL history, along with Montreal, to have three players score 500 with the franchise. Malkin joined Crosby and Mario Lemieux.
Crosby reached the milestone when he recorded the secondary assist on Bryan Rust’s power-play goal at 11:01 of the first period.
The 37-year-old Crosby is the first player to reach the milestone since Jaromir Jagr on Oct. 6, 2011.
Crosby needed 1,277 games to reach 1,600 points, the fifth-fewest to hit the milestone. Crosby is eight goals shy of reaching 600 in his career. He’s 41 points short of tying Hall of Famer Joe Sakic for ninth place in NHL history.
Rickard Rakell scored his third goal of the season with 46 seconds left to force overtime. Drew O’Connor scored a shorthanded goal and Jesse Puljujarvi added his second of the season.
Tristan Jarry allowed three goals on five shots in the first period before he was pulled. Joel Blomqvist came on and finished with 26 saves.
J.J. Peterka, back after missing the last two games with a concussion, scored twice for Buffalo. Ryan McLeod, Tage Thompson and Jordan Greenway also scored for the Sabres and Alex Tuch had two assists. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 36 shots.
Takeaways
Sabres: The Sabres nearly won consecutive games for the first time this season. Buffalo lost its first three by a combined 10-3 margin, but were unable to protect leads of 3-1 and 5-4.
Penguins: Pittsburgh won consecutive games for the first time this season.
Key moment
Rakell tapped in a loose rebound from the top of the crease with 46 seconds left in regulation to tie the score.
Key stat
The Penguins are 399-90-47 when Crosby and Malkin record a point.
Up next
Sabres continue a three-game road trip at Columbus on Thursday, and Penguins host Carolina on Friday before a four-game road trip.
MAPLE LEAFS 6, KINGS 2
TORONTO — Auston Matthews broke out of a season-opening points drought, scoring his first goal and adding his first two assists as Toronto’s captain in the Maple Leafs’ victory over Los Angeles.
Matthews made it 2-0 midway through the first period, quickly regaining control after fanning on a shot and beating David Rittich with a wrist shot.
The NHL goals leader last season with 69, Matthews also assisted on two power-play goals to to help the Maple Leafs win for the third straight time after an opening 1-0 loss at Montreal.
Bobby McMann scored twice in Toronto’s three-goal first period, Morgan Rielly, William Nylander and John Tavares added goals and Anthony Stolarz stopped 32 shots. Mitch Marner had three assists.
Alex Turcotte and Kevin Fiala scored in the third period for Los Angeles.
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