In the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night, Evgeni Malkin scored twice — the second of which was his 300th career goal.
Welcome to the 300 club, Geno! pic.twitter.com/Ym7KAlQMOL
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 30, 2016
Head coach Mike Sullivan said of Malkin’s accomplishment, “It’s hard to score in this league. To score 300 is a credit to him and how good he is as a player.”
Malkin said he was happy to have his 300th goal, especially because it came against the Flyers.
“It’s a good number, and against Philly, you know, it’s a big rivalry, very important we win tonight,” Malkin said. “It’s a good number, but I know I have more.”
The 29-year-old center was taken by the Penguins in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, but his Pittsburgh debut was delayed until October 18, 2006, because of a transfer dispute between the NHL and the International Ice Hockey Federation.
Here are some of his best goals in a Pittsburgh uniform:
It was his first NHL game, and it was his first career NHL goal. While it wasn’t all that spectacular — he just kind of poked a loose puck in — the first goal is always the hardest to get. Plus, just appreciate how the announcers keep pronouncing his name “Melkin” instead of “Malkin.” They’d get some more practice saying it right over the years. Malkin would go on to score a goal in each of his first six games, setting a modern NHL record.
Holy guacamole, Batman! There are pretty goals, and then there’s this one, which is just truly spectacular. There aren’t enough words in the English language to describe this beauty. Maybe in Russian?
Most normal people have enough trouble dancing on hardwood floors, yet Malkin somehow consistently manages to dance on the ice. Maybe he should go out for Russia’s 2018 Olympic ice dancing team? The best comment on the video: “Surprised this video made it past Youtube’s community guidelines with how dirty it was.”
Defenseman Paul Martin left the Penguins after the 2015 season and joined the San Jose Sharks, and Malkin made his former teammate look stupid on this goal. #SorryNotSorry.
Because when you’re Malkin, you can take on a team’s entire defense — no problem.
On the biggest stage, Malkin came up big to give his team the 2-1 lead in Game 5 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals. It wasn’t the prettiest goal he’s scored, but it was one of the most important — and his timing when shooting is truly something special.
Malkin made a spectacular spin move and got off a shot — but it was blocked by New York Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist. But Malkin is Malkin, and he got his own rebound to bury the puck in the back of the net.
He’s filthy. In Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Malkin netted a hat trick — and he did it in front of his (very proud) parents. The third goal is particularly awesome.
I’m not entirely sure why a team would leave Malkin completely open. Heck, he’s shown he can score with four guys hanging onto him, so… Oh, and did I mention this goal came against the Flyers?
If you haven’t figured it out by now — and if you haven’t, it might be time for some glasses — Malkin is really, really good. And he does just about everything right around the net. Here, watch him just completely embarrass a defender.
Wowza. This is nasty. Is there anything the man can’t do?
Here’s to his next 300 goals.
Image credit: Gene J. Puskar/AP
