Player of the Week | Evgeni Malkin
Evgeni Malkin is in hot pursuit of his third Art Ross Trophy after extending his point streak to six games over the week to sit second in league scoring with 87 points on the season.
Evgeni Malkin
March 5-11, 2018
(3-5–8) over 4 GP
Active six-game point streak
87 points currently rank second in 2017-18
Evgeni Malkin is in hot pursuit of his third Art Ross Trophy after he pushed his point streak to six games over four contests last week, and now sits second in league scoring with 87 points on the 2017-18 season.
Malkin (3-5–8) led the NHL in points, alongside Brad Marchand (4-4–8) of the Boston Bruins, as he helped the Pittsburgh Penguins to three wins and first place in the Metropolitan Division.
The Russian centre kicked off his week by posting his 12th three-point outing of the season, which stands as a league-high in such performances. In the 4-3 overtime win Monday over the visiting Calgary Flames, Malkin picked up his 37th goal of the season before tallying his second assist of the night on the game-winning goal scored by Justin Schultz.
Wednesday night, Malkin and the Penguins hit the road to Wells Fargo Center for a rivalry matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers. As part of a two-point night, No. 71 notched an assist before tallying an empty-netter for his 38th goal of the season in the Penguins' 5-2 win. Team captain Sidney Crosby also reached a milestone in the victory by registering his 1,100th NHL point.
Congratulations to Sidney Crosby, who with a trio of assists in last night's @Penguins win, picked up his 1,100th NHL point! pic.twitter.com/f5OVOf5T92
— NHLPA (@NHLPA) March 8, 2018
Before heading back to Pittsburgh, Malkin and the Pens stopped over at Air Canada Centre for a Saturday night showdown against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Malkin's ice time of 21:41 was a team high among forwards in the 5-2 loss, and he picked up an assist on Patric Hornqvist's third-period goal.
Sunday night, the Penguins picked up a valuable two points in a 3-1 win over the Dallas Stars on home ice. The victory, the club's fourth in five games, moved Pittsburgh one point ahead of the Washington Capitals in the division. Malkin dished out another assist to Hornqvist to help him pick up his 20th goal of the season, and then put away another empty-netter for his 39th goal of the season – just one red light away from tying Alex Ovechkin and Patrik Laine, who currently lead the league tied at 40 goals apiece.
This was Malkin's second nod of the season for NHLPA.com Player of the Week after his performance earlier in the season during Jan.29-Feb.4, 2018.
The Penguins are off until their Wednesday night matchup against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
Complete listing of the 2017-18 NHLPA.com Players of the Week here