Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin records 1,300th career point in loss to Maple Leafs

It’s been a historic few days for Evgeni Malkin.

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ forward recorded his 800th career assist during their 6-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings Thursday night, and on Saturday he hit another milestone, recording two assists and becoming the 37th player in NHL history to reach 1,300 career points.

Malkin achieved the feat during the third period when he assisted on Rickard Rakell’s first goal of the season.

Malkin scored his 1,299th career point earlier in the game when he assisted on Kris Letang’s first-period goal. The Penguins would end up losing 4-2 to the Leafs.

The 38-year-old forward now has 498 goals to go with his 802 assists and 1,300 points. He has hit the 100-point mark three times in his career, with his highest point total coming in 2008-09, finishing with 113 (35 goals and 78 assists). In 2011-12, Malkin scored a career-high 50 goals.

Malkin has the most assists of any Russian player in NHL history, the second-most goals for any Russian and the second-most points. He also has the third-most points among active NHLers, behind teammate Sidney Crosby and Washington Capitals’ forward Alexander Ovechkin.

Last season, the Penguins went 38-32-12 with 88 points, fifth in the Metropolitan Division and three points shy of the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. Malkin wound up scoring 27 goals and 40 assists for 67 points. His teammate Crosby, who is entering his 20th NHL season, led the team in all offensive categories, scoring 42 goals, 52 assists and 94 points.