Penguins Reach First Place For First Time Since 2016

Pittsburgh Penguins fans know all too well that the team has been struggling for the better part of the last decade. Since their 2017 Stanley Cup victory, the once perennial championship contenders have been a shell of their former glorious selves.

But, Sidney Crosby and the rest of the veterans took it upon themselves to change that this year. The Pittsburgh captain is already firing on all cylinders with 15 points across 12 games. Meanwhile, longtime linemate Evgeni Malkin is playing like he has something to prove this year.

With 17 points, Geno is showing hints of genius that he hadn't shown since that fateful playoff run against the New York Rangers. However, with his latest assist against the Minnesota Wild, he just helped the Penguins reach the top of the NHL table for the first time since December 2016.

The last time fans saw the Penguins be this dominant was back in 2016-17, when the franchise used to be a playoff regular and each season had Pittsburgh for the inevitable clash against the Washington Capitals and Alex Ovechkin.

But since the departure of Marc-Andre Fleury in 2017, things had been rough for the Penguins. They even missed the playoffs for the last three seasons, and veterans like Malkin and Kris Letang looked to be on their last legs. So, entering the 2025-26 season they had something to prove.

Penguins Veterans drive the Pittsburgh Resurgence

While the Penguins kicked off their season opener with a big win over the Rangers at home, many fans expected younger names like Justin Brazeau to lead the season. But what followed was totally different. With 14 assists, Malkin currently leads the franchise in assists.

With last night's win over Minnesota, the Penguins moved into first place in the NHL standings for the first time since Dec. 28, 2016 (min. 10 GP). pic.twitter.com/o5fHz3gxiM
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) October 31, 2025

Meanwhile, Crosby currently leads the Penguins in goals with eight goals. He even hit the milestone of becoming the ninth player in NHL history to reach 1700 points. With 1,702 points, he is now just 21 points shy of overtaking Mario Lemieux as the Penguins' all-time points leader.

Other veterans like Bryan Rust (10 points) and Erik Karlsson (9 points) are also in top form. “We’re taking each day as it comes,” Rust said after the victory. “I don’t think we’re trying to get too far ahead of ourselves, and I think we’re having a lot of fun with it."

Goaltending remains a key highlight for the Penguins

Beyond all the big names helping drive the offense, the Penguins have also seen steady netminding throughout the season so far. The duo of Arturs Silovs and Tristan Jarry has proved to be one of the best goalie tandems, with a .921 save percentage, up from .891 last year.

Jarry continued his golden run with the game against the Wild as he blocked 26 of the 27 shots on target while maintaining an average of .923 SV% and a GAA of 2.35. Head coach Dan Muse has changed many things in Pittsburgh, but bringing the Penguins' winning mentality back was one of the biggest.

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