Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin scored his 500th career goal at PPG Paints against the Buffalo Sabers on Wednesday. The Russian’s historic lamplighter, aided by captain Sidney Crosby, gave the Penguins organization three 500-goal scorers in their history.
First, Mario Lemieux reached the plateau on October 26, 1995, and 27 years later, Crosby scored his 500th on February 15, 2022. After Malkin joined the club, Pittsburgh became the second franchise in NHL history after the Montreal Canadiens to have three goal scorers of 500 goals.
Historically, Maurice “Rocket” Richard became the first player to score 500 goals, setting the record on October 19, 1957. Nearly two decades later, Jean Beliveau achieved his milestone goal on February 11, 1971, becoming the fourth player to score that many goals. Finally, on December 20, 1983, Guy Lafleur became the third Montreal player to score 500 goals.
It would have been fitting if Malkin had reached the milestone at the Bell Center in the Penguins and Canadiens’ first meeting, but he did score his 499th goal with an empty-netter.
Boosting one of the best Mount Rushmore lineups in NHL history, Pittsburgh fans have been fortunate enough to watch some of the all-time greats wear black and gold over the past four decades.
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