Sidney Crosby did not even want the credit. Evgeni Malkin’s one-timer was announced as Malkin’s goal in the building; the official scoring change gave it to Crosby — a deflection at 17:13 of the second period that stands as career point No. 1,772, lifting the Pittsburgh captain past Marcel Dionne into sole possession of sixth place on the NHL’s all-time points list.
The play ran through Pittsburgh’s other two stars. Erik Karlsson threaded a backhand pass to Malkin in the right circle, and Malkin’s one-timer caught Crosby in front and deflected past Darcy Kuemper to make it 4–2. Crosby had entered the night tied with Dionne at 1,771 — he pulled even in Montreal on Oct. 31 — and he broke the tie in the building where Dionne’s retired jersey hangs, against the franchise Dionne starred for.
Pittsburgh led early and never trailed. Tommy Novak scored at 1:52 and again at 5:10 of the first. Corey Perry bunted a loose puck in off the end boards at 9:55 to get Los Angeles on the board, and Yegor Chinakhov restored the two-goal margin at 19:31. Alex Laferriere cut it to 3–2 at 3:07 of the second, and Adrian Kempe thought he had tied it at 15:31 — Pittsburgh challenged, the goal came off the board for offside, and the Crosby deflection followed less than two minutes later.
Both of Novak’s goals came the same way — off Kuemper’s pads. Declan Carlile’s wrist shot from the left point was saved, and Novak put the rebound in for the 1–0 goal; five minutes into the game he followed up another Kuemper stop and scored the rebound again (Reuters). On a night that will be remembered for one deflection in the second period, the first period belonged to a winger living on second chances, and Pittsburgh never gave the lead back.
Crosby closed it himself. With the Kings’ net empty, he dove face-first to tip in his second goal of the night at 18:44 of the third — point No. 1,773, leaving him 25 behind Ron Francis (1,798) for fifth place. Ahead of Francis on the list: Gordie Howe (1,850), Mark Messier (1,887), Jaromir Jagr (1,921) and Wayne Gretzky (2,857). Crosby’s line for the night: two goals, a plus-2 and three shots in 18:50.
The company he keeps
The list Crosby climbed is the sport’s shortest roll of honor. He reached 1,773 points on 660 goals and 1,113 assists; Dionne’s 1,771 came on 731 goals and 1,040 assists — a scorer’s line against a playmaker’s, arriving at nearly the same total by opposite routes (NHL.com). Dionne played the heart of his career in Los Angeles, which is why the building mattered: the Kings retire his No. 16, and the man he passed is part of the arena’s furniture. Crosby tied him in Montreal on Oct. 31 and then, eight days later, passed him in the one rink where passing him meant the most.
Malkin finished with three assists. Sergei Murashov stopped 26 of 28 shots for his first win of the season, and the Penguins (6–9–2) snapped a four-game losing streak despite being outshot 28–19. Kuemper made 14 saves for the Kings (5–8–2). Pittsburgh finishes its California swing at Anaheim on Sunday; Los Angeles hosts Nashville on Tuesday.
The win carried two streaks out of the building with it. It ended Pittsburgh’s seven-game road losing streak — the Penguins had gone 0–6–1 away from home since a 7–0 win at Philadelphia in their season opener on Sept. 30 (NHL.com) — and it was their fourth straight win in Los Angeles, something the franchise had never done before (Pittsburgh Hockey Now). It also opened a three-game California trip the right way, on the first night of the swing (Reuters).
And there was a keepsake. Murashov, a rookie, stopped 26 shots for the first win of his season, and after the buzzer Crosby picked up the game puck for him (NHL.com) — the captain who had just made history of his own making sure the goaltender’s milestone from the same night was marked too. Kris Letang added two assists for Pittsburgh; Corey Perry and Alex Laferriere scored for Los Angeles, which has dropped two of three (Reuters).
Every play from Crypto.com Arena lives on the game’s Game Center page, and the rest of the night’s hockey is on the NHL hub.
Sources · 6 sources
- ESPN — game summary and box score, Pittsburgh Penguins at Los Angeles Kings (event 401892672): final score 5–2, state post / completed, double-read with identical reads
- NHL.com — official Penguins game preview (Crosby entered tied with Marcel Dionne at 1,771 career points) and the NHL’s official play-by-play for game 2026020275 (the 17:13 second-period goal credited to Sidney Crosby, deflected, assists Evgeni Malkin and Erik Karlsson; the 18:44 empty-net goal taking him to 1,773)
- NHL.com — Penguins postgame story, “Musings: Penguins Get Feel-Good Win in LA,” and the Kings’ official recap (final 5–2)
- Associated Press via TSN and Sportsnet — game recap (Nov 7, 2026): Crosby’s two goals, Malkin’s three assists, Sergei Murashov’s 26 saves and Pittsburgh’s four-game losing streak snapped
- Reuters / Field Level Media — game recap (Nov 7, 2026): the same scoring record, including the disallowed Kempe goal on the offside challenge
- Pittsburgh Hockey Now — game recap (Nov 7, 2026): the milestone account and the end-of-night gap of 25 points to Ron Francis
