PITTSBURGH \u2014 For 10 games in Pittsburgh, it\u2019s felt like the old days.<\/p>\n
Evgeni Malkin is now tied for the league lead in scoring, Sidney Crosby is right on his tail and the Penguins stayed hot by defeating the St. Louis Blues 6-3 on Monday at PPG Paints Arena.<\/p>\n
Crosby surpassed 1,700 points for his career with a three-point effort, putting the Blues away by scoring after he was initially stopped on a breakaway.<\/p>\n
1,701 points \u2705 pic.twitter.com\/SVy6bSmXRJ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NHL (@NHL) October 28, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Malkin recorded an empty-netter and made a beautiful individual effort to set up Anthony Mantha as the Penguins struck for two goals in the game\u2019s opening minute.<\/p>\n OH MAN(tha) \ud83e\udd29<\/p>\n The black and gold have two in under a minute! pic.twitter.com\/AL6KFRcH6R<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 27, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Bryan Rust was held without a goal in his first six games, but he\u2019s erupted for three in his final two contests. He scored twice against the Blues, including a tally just 39 seconds into regulation.<\/p>\n Rusty gets us going \ud83d\ude4c<\/p>\n \u2026 AND WE GET 1\/2 OFF RUSTY’S SHAKE AT THE@MShakeFactory<\/a> TOMORROW! pic.twitter.com\/2rkPJjoiZw<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 27, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Parker Wotherspoon also scored for the Penguins while his defense partner, Erik Karlsson, was perhaps the best player on the ice and finished his evening with three assists.<\/p>\n Tristan Jarry stopped 26 of 29 shots to improve his record to 4-1.<\/p>\n The Penguins didn\u2019t play their best hockey early in the game despite taking the immediate 2-0 lead. They were sloppy and out of sorts by the time the first intermission rolled around. However, they played a more composed style of hockey in the final two periods, eventually retaking the lead and control of the game.<\/p>\n Having Crosby and Malkin playing at this level makes things a little easier for a first-year coach. Dan Muse is quickly starting to get a feel for the greatness that both players still bring to the table. More than anything, he seems impressed with the work that Crosby, 38, and Malkin, 39, put in on a regular basis.<\/p>\n \u201cIt becomes pretty clear why they\u2019re doing what they\u2019re doing,\u201d Muse said.<\/p>\n Malkin has 16 points (three goals, 13 assists) through 10 games while Crosby has 14 points (seven goals, seven assists).<\/p>\n Up next for the Penguins is a trip to Philadelphia, where Crosby has produced some of the most memorable performances of his career. Puck drop between the Penguins and Flyers is scheduled for just after 6 p.m. on Tuesday.<\/p>\n 1o postgame observations<\/p>\n 1. I feel obligated to begin with a human moment.<\/p>\n The Penguins were informed immediately after the game that a fan had fallen<\/a> from the upper deck to the 100 level in the moments following Mantha\u2019s goal. At the time, there was such bedlam and general noise in the arena that very few people noticed what had happened.<\/p>\n Crosby was asked about surpassing the 1,700-point mark but instead initially avoided answering the question.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just heard someone fell tonight,\u201d Crosby said. \u201cDoesn\u2019t feel right to be talking about points. My thoughts and prayers to that person.\u201d<\/p>\n Crosby was pressed to talk about hockey afterward and politely did so. I spoke privately with him for a moment and he was very clearly affected by the news he had just heard.<\/p>\n He handled the situation with the class and dignity that we\u2019ve become accustomed to over the years. Crosby had just achieved a monumental accomplishment but absolutely didn\u2019t want to discuss it because of his concern for the person who had fallen. While it\u2019s natural for anyone to show concern for another human being in that spot, I have long noted that Crosby is a person of impeccable character who truly cares about the well-being of others in a very sincere way. He was shaken by the news.<\/p>\n 2. Crossing the 1,700-point barrier is no small feat. Only eight other men in the history of the sport have done so.<\/p>\n Crosby, in fact, is only 22 points from passing Mario Lemieux on the NHL\u2019s all-time scoring list and only 54 points from passing Steve Yzerman. Those two names are particularly relevant because those are Crosby\u2019s two heroes in hockey. Should he stay healthy, Crosby will almost assuredly pass both men this season.<\/p>\n What\u2019s astonishing is that he\u2019s essentially still operating at the level that we\u2019ve always witnessed. He\u2019s 38. This isn\u2019t normal. Only the all-time greats do stuff like this.<\/p>\n 3. The chemistry between Malkin and Mantha appears to be very real. It\u2019s also a simple formula: Mantha gets Malkin the puck, and then Mantha uses his 6-5 frame to the barge to the net. And Malkin finds him.<\/p>\n The two work very well together. I didn\u2019t love Mantha\u2019s first couple of games in Pittsburgh, but he\u2019s starting to find his groove. Malkin, meanwhile, has been rocking since opening night. He\u2019s putting on a show right now.<\/p>\n 4. Rust just needed to have his hands catch up to his legs. He missed the first two games of the season with an injury and didn\u2019t look right out of the gate. His wheels, however, looked great. Rust is one of the NHL\u2019s best skaters and that aspect of his game never appeared to miss a beat.<\/p>\n Finally, the hands have come around and he has three goals in eight games. With the injured Rickard Rakell out of the lineup, Rust becomes that much more important. Tonight was a good way to start that stretch.<\/p>\n 5. Karlsson did suffer a misplay on Jordan Kyrou\u2019s first-period goal that evened the game at 2.<\/p>\n This is an absolutely perfect pass from Brayden Schenn (and a pretty perfect goal from Jordan Kyrou, too). pic.twitter.com\/76eFpLJYpd<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) October 27, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n However, I\u2019m not here to give him a hard time. Far from it. Karlsson was absolutely brilliant in this game. Seemingly every touch in the offensive zone was a thing of beauty. He was producing offense at an impressive clip.<\/p>\n With Karlsson, you take the occasional turnover when he\u2019s producing offensive and controlling play. I thought this was his best game of the season. Karlsson hasn\u2019t scored a goal yet, but he does have nine assists in 10 games and his defensive performance has been greatly improved this season.<\/p>\n 6. His defense partner wasn\u2019t too shabby, either. Wotherspoon scored his first goal with the Penguins during a delayed penalty, and it was a beauty.<\/p>\n PARKER WITH HIS FIRST AS A PENGUIN \ud83d\udc27 pic.twitter.com\/zvhemNsKL4<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 28, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n I can\u2019t say enough about how much I like this guy\u2019s game. He and Karlsson click. He\u2019s a smart player and even though his job on that pairing is very much to stay at home, he doesn\u2019t exactly treat the puck like it\u2019s a hand grenade.<\/p>\n The addition of Wotherspoon was a shrewd piece of summer business from Kyle Dubas.<\/p>\n 7. Some of the Penguins didn\u2019t enjoy a strong night.<\/p>\n Harrison Brunicke really struggled for the first time in his NHL career. The rookie was particularly out of sorts in the first period.<\/p>\n Just in the Nick of time. pic.twitter.com\/95GXasRah5<\/a><\/p>\n