Game-winning goals is the only major offensive statistical category in which Mario Lemieux doesn't hold the No. 1 spot in Penguins franchise history.
Jaromir Jagr leads there, with 78 regular-season game-winning goals in a Penguins uniform.
Lemieux has long held the No. 2 spot on the list, with 74 game-winners.
Now, he ranks third.
Evgeni Malkin had the lone goal in the Penguins' 1-0 shutout of the Rangers on Saturday at PPG Paints Arena. It was his second game-winning goal of the season, and 75th of his career, surpassing Lemieux for sole possession of second place in franchise history.
Bryan Rust sent a cross-ice pass to Malkin, who one-timed it past Igor Shesterkin on the power play:
Malkin's other game-winning goal this season came in his first game back from injury in Anaheim, part of a two-goal performance that night.
It won't be long until Lemieux drops another spot on the list.
Sidney Crosby has four game-winning goals this season, bringing him one game-winner away from tying Lemieux on the all-time list.
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After Crosby, it's quite the drop-off. Jean Pronovist sits fifth with 42 goals. Kris Letang, of course, is the next active player on the list. He's tied with Chris Kunitz in sixth place with 28 each. Kevin Stevens is next with 27, followed by Marty Straka and Rick Kehoe each with 26.
Malkin didn't speak with reporters following Saturday's win, despite scoring the game's only goal.
Malkin, of course, typically speaks with the media far less often than most of his teammates throughout the year. He didn't speak during the Penguins' locker room cleanout day following last season's playoff exit. After he spoke for the first time this season as he was nearing a return from his knee surgery, he joked(?) as he was leaving the press conference room that he'd see us reporters again in another six months. He's (sometimes reluctantly) met with reporters a couple of times since then, and last spoke after a practice on Feb. 23, so it's not that unusual that he didn't talk Saturday, just three days later.
Whenever Malkin speaks next, there's a chance that he'll be asked about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which might contribute to any reluctance he may have had to speak after this win.
If you ask me, I don't think it's fair to put this weight on Russian players. Asking players to answer for the actions of their country is something that we only ever see happen with Russian players, and it happens with things far less serious than war as well.
It's incredibly difficult for Russian players to criticize their government. Artemi Panarin is the highest-profile Russian player who has openly supported Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and we saw how that went when he just made an Instagram post in support of Navalny last season. Nearly a year ago today, a former Russian coach of his began speaking to the Russian press, accusing Panarin of assaulting a Latvian woman 10 years prior, a story that none of the players from that team interviewed by the New York Post could corroborate even hearing about.
“This is clearly an intimidation tactic being used against him for being outspoken on recent political events,” the Rangers said at the time.
Panarin took a brief leave of absence from the Rangers as a result, in part to ensure the safety of his family.
“We gave (Panarin) his space and time he needed to figure things out,” then-Rangers GM Jeff Gorton told Cam and Strick Podcast. “The biggest thing when those things are happening back home – he has family there. We don’t know what’s going on in the world. I’ve been to Russia but you don’t know how mad people get or what they will do so we just gave him his space to work through it.”
Russian athletes in particular are pressured to be openly supportive of Vladimir Putin and the Russian government. That's perhaps more true for hockey, given Putin's level of interest in the sport (and occasional attempts to play it himself, always leading to bizarre videos of defensemen openly diving out of his way).
“Athletes are heroes of Russia, and (Putin) wants them to support his regime,” Jeremy Roenick told USA Today last season, speaking on his past experiences with Russian teammates. “If you don’t, you subject yourself to political hatred, to attacks and to not knowing whether you and your family are safe."
Malkin and Alex Ovechkin are among the Russian national team players who have openly supported Putin in the past. Ovechkin was asked about the ongoing conflict on Friday, and didn't exactly criticize his country's actions.
"I would say it's a hard situation," Ovechkin said. "I have lots of friends in Russia and Ukraine. And it's hard to see another war. I hope it's soon going to be over and there's going to be peace in the whole world."
Asked directly about his previous support of Putin, Ovechkin tried to remain neutral.
"Well, he's my president," he said. "But how I said, I'm not in politics. I'm an athlete, and you know how I said, I hope everything is going to be done soon. It's a hard situation right now for both sides and everything. Everything I hope is going to end. I'm not (in) control of this situation."
Russian players have to toe a tough line right now in their public comments. It wouldn't be surprising if Malkin tries to avoid it.
