Game Preview: 03.18.25 vs. New York Islanders | Pittsburgh Penguins

WE’RE GOIN’ STREAKIN’

Saturday’s win over New Jersey marked the Penguins’ fourth-consecutive win, tying their season-long stretch set from Nov. 27-Dec. 3 (4-0-0).

The team’s seven-goal outburst marked the third time this season that Pittsburgh has scored seven or more goals in a game (Dec. 12 at Montreal and Dec. 23 vs. Philadelphia). Since their winning streak began on Mar. 9, no team has more wins or goals than the Penguins.

TOMMA MIA!

Forward Philip Tomasino had a goal and an assist on Saturday against the Devils, securing his 10th tally of the season. With his next goal, he will tie his career-high goal total of 11 set in 2021-22 with Nashville.

Tomasino’s game-winning goal against New Jersey marked his sixth such goal of the season. No Penguin has more game-winning goals than Tomasino.

Since Tomasino was acquired by Pittsburgh on Nov. 25, no player across the league has more game-winning goals than Tomasino’s six.

The forward is set to play in his 200th career game tonight. Through 199 games, Tomasino has registered 33 goals, 57 assists, 90 points and 11 game-winning goals.

ANOTHER MILESTONE FOR SID

With an assist in Saturday’s win over New Jersey, Sidney Crosby (1,669) tied Wayne Gretzky for the fourth-most points with a single franchise in NHL history.

Over the last four games dating back to March 9, the forward is leading the NHL in goals and is second in points.

The captain has been on an exceptional run at PPG Paints Arena as the forward has had points in 10-straight home games dating back to Feb. 1, 2025. During this home point streak, Crosby has posted five goals, 10 assists and 15 points. His 10-game home point streak is third in the league for active home point streaks.

AGAINST NYI

Throughout his career, Sidney Crosby has played dominant hockey against the New York Islanders. In 89 career games, Crosby has recorded 136 points (42G-94A) against the Islanders, helping Pittsburgh to a 52-24-13 record in those games. He has almost double the amount of multi-point games against them (40) as opposed to games with no points (23). Only Jaromir Jagr (155) has more points against the Islanders in NHL history than Crosby’s 136. Crosby’s 135 points versus the Islanders are also the most that any active player has against one single team.

Crosby is one of 17 players in NHL history, and the only active player, to have 100 or more points against three or more franchises.

MALK-A-MANIA

Evgeni Malkin enters tonight’s game with 10 points (4G-6A) in 12 games since returning from the 4 Nations break. With his assist on Saturday, he tied Anze Kopitar for the 13th-most assists for a single franchise in NHL history, and he is just one assist shy of tying Henrik Sedin for 12th place.

KILLER KARL

After Erik Karlsson’s power-play tally against New Jersey on Saturday, the defenseman enters tonight’s game just one goal shy of reaching the 200-goal plateau. Among active blueliners, Karlsson’s 199 career goals rank second in the NHL.

Among Swedish-born defensemen, only Nicklas Lidstrom (264) has more career goals than Karlsson.

Karlsson is just one assist shy of recording his 10th 40-assist season. With his next assist, Karlsson will tie Brian Leetch and Brad Park for the seventh-most 40-assist seasons by a defenseman in NHL history.

The blueliner has points in 13 of his last 17 games, which includes a season-long seven-game point streak which ran from Jan. 29-Feb. 23. Since Jan. 29, Karlsson is tied for third in points among all defensemen.

TIMMINS MAKING IMMEDIATE IMPACT

Since being dealt to the Penguins on the trade deadline, Conor Timmins has brought great offensive production to the backend as the defenseman has three points (1G-2A) in four games. Additionally, since his first game on Mar. 9 his plus-7 is tied for the team lead with Matt Grzelcyk and Rickard Rakell, and is tied for fourth in the entire league.

QUICK HITS

1) Defenseman Kris Letang leads all active NHL blueliners in goals (13), assists (36) and points (49) versus the Islanders.

2) Goaltender Tristan Jarry is 11-4-1 with a 2.46 goals-against average, a .918 save percentage and three shutouts in 16 career games against the New York Islanders.

3) Matt Grzelcyk (1G-30A) is one of just 11 defensemen in the Sidney Crosby era (since 2005-26) to record 30 or more points with the team in one season.

4) Forward Connor Dewar has three goals in four games with Pittsburgh after notching just three assists in 31 games with Toronto this season. He has goals in back-to-back games (3G) and a goal tomorrow would give him the first three-game goal streak of the year.

5) The Penguins own an overall record of 403-92-49 when both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin record a point in a game.