Yesterday the Penguins and Stars was turning into an Evgeni(i) party, until it wasn’t. The first three goals of the game had an Evgeni(i) involved with Malkin assisting on the first one and Dadonov scoring two goals. Four of the first five goals were Evgeni(i) related. Ultimately, it was overshadowed by somebody involved in the non-Evgeni(i) club, Sidney Crosby.

It appears only the best players can close out a hat trick with an empty net goal this weekend. Crosby added another three goals (and an assist) to his season total which now puts him at 30 goals on the season. It is the 13th season in which he has done so and the fourth consecutive season spanning his age 33-37 seasons.

There have been really only two seasons where he’s come up short of a 30 goal pace. In the 2014-15 season he played in 77 games and had 28 goals. That was famously the season where Jamie Benn led all players with only 87 points. In 2017-18 Sidney Crosby played all 82 games and had 29 goals so he flat out didn’t get there.

The other five misses were the concussion/neck situation, lockouts, and COVID.



Goal scoring isn’t Sidney Crosby’s claim to fame, but he is one of the most consistent goal scorers going on top of being the best passer of his generation. He *should* be over 700 due to the missed time during his prime of which there are only eight players in that club. He’s been a pretty damn good goal scorer for it not being something that has defined his career.

His 29th goal this season came from his new linemate who has been acclimated himself well since being recalled

Pittsburgh goal!

Scored by Sidney Crosby with 19:40 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by Rutger McGroarty.

Dallas: 2
Pittsburgh: 2#PITvsDAL #TexasHockey #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/ilcLEqGsFN

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 5, 2025

Both Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen are putting up some quality NHL minutes in the past few games. McGroarty has three points in his last three games with a 59.65 xGF% while Koivunen has been a 57.7 xGF% player with an assist. It has been a successful run to this point for the both players. They are going to have to be the contributors that help the Penguins to climb out of a rebuild into a retool. It’s a very small sample, but in the three games since their recalls the Penguins are the second best team in the NHL with a 59.83 xGF% and all three games have been against teams currently in the playoffs (OTT, STL, DAL).

Up next is a home and home against the lowly Chicago Blackhawks.

Thanks for reading!

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